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GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS 


eto orl 


i oe DUMBLE Hy G.°S. A‘, 


STATE GEOLOGIST. 


AUSTIN: 
HENRY HUTCHINGS. STATE PRINTER 
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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 


OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 
INSURANCE, STATISTICS, AND HISTorRY, 
AusTIN, TExAs, May 1, 1892. 


Hon. James S. Hogg, Governor of Texas: 

DEAR S1ir—The Third Annual Report of the Geological and Mineral- 
ogical Survey of Texas is herewith submitted according to the require- 
ments of law. ; 

State Geologist E. T. Dumble has had charge of the Survey from 
the beginning, and the progress made from year to year, as evidenced 
by the reports, is justly credited to him and his assistants. The year 
1891 was rather a remarkable one for the development of the State’s 
wealth and mineral resources, as will appear from an examimation of 
this report. 

The study of lignites, in which Texas abounds, has interested Pro- 
fessor Dumble for some twelve or fourteen years, and the value or utility 
of the same engrossed much of his time and attention in 1891. During 
a trip to Kurope he made a thorough examination as to the use and 
value of lignites, which will doubtless prove a great benefit to Texas, 
for it will go far towards solving the question of cheap fuel, as the tests 
made since his return demonstrate. 

The work being done in that branch of this Department is bringing 
to light the latent resources of the State in such a way as to convince 
the most skeptical of the value of the Survey, and it is no longer a 
question as to whether the Survey shall live, but what the appropriation 
shall be, and it is hoped the Legislature will act liberally in providing 
funds for its maintenance. 

I have the honor to remain, with much respect and esteem, your 
obedient servant, 

JNO. E. HOLLINGSWORTH, 
Commissioner of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, and History. 


[v] 


FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 


Appropriation for the Geological Survey of Texas, January 1, 1891, to 
December 31, 7891. 


Balance unexpended December 31,1890 ......... $8,340 68 
Appropriation March 1, 1891, to February 28,1892... . 35,000 00 
Expended: 
RIS LATARS Gyr (ee oe adie co ON Sam, meee ae $21,045 61 
BIOL CMOCHIDMENT..! sc iorek a! eo Ape ys St ee eet ne 617 43 
PISIeEXPENSES aii). Gents yy ee a ome ee 6,329 36 
Instruments and apparatus’. 3°... 4 fps ee ee ee ee 
Miutiure.and fittines «27:5 °. 4.5 ee eee ee Sey EH 700 95 
Books and maps. . MME TERS A Fy 7s. bib oT 802 93 
QVaboratory supplies ... .:.- ET eae a ne 635 77 
Printing aid engraving i) 3s ae ene 1,998 40 
Office supplies... .. MIEN Birks awe ay yh 8 Et 417 41 
dmcidentals 3, "sot woe een ASS BES Se oad, ene, Re 435 70 
BALANCE rey e F Ee eh ee ee eae el i eo \ PRL 9,010 93 


$43,340 68 $438,340 68 
Appropriation for traveling and other expenses of an investigation into the 
Utilization of Lignite. 


Amount of appropriation.) 0) sl eae et ee eee eee + oe sels 4 no, 
Amount: expended 2 ie. o' Oban) | a eta an, Ones ee 1,553 75 


PrAlLAN CE: \ ose os Well oy as cele ahs ae ee aro Sone Wes ipo ie ees . $1,446 25 


~~ ) [vi] 


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LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, INSURANCE, STATISTICS, AND HISToRY, 
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS, 
AvusTIN, TExas, May 1, 1892. 


Hon. J. E. Hollingsworth, Commissioner of Agriculture, Insurance, Statistics, 
and History, Austin, Texas: 


DEAR SIR—I have the honor to transmit herewith the Third Annual 
Report of the Geological and Mineralogical Survey of Texas. 

This report contains, as far as we have been able to prepare them, 
the results of the work of the Survey for the year 1891. Much material, 
however, still remains on hand for study, and until proper determinations 
on it are secured final conclusions cannot be drawn in regard to many 
points of interest and value. Some of the determinations depend on an 


- Increase of library facilities, and others on our opportunity and ability 


to secure the work of specialists in certain departments of scientific 
work—difficulties which can only be overcome gradually. 

Please accept my hearty thanks for your kindness, consideration and 
assistance during the progress of the work. 


Yours very truly, 7 
E. T. DUMBLE, 


State Geologist. 


[vii] 


CONTENTS. 


REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 


MAtraductory 28.93 Sk. ake 
Work of the third year. . 
Topography . . 
Geology . 
East Texas . 
Central and West Tevas 
Central Cretaceous area 
Trans-Pecos Texas . 
Galveston artesian well . . 
Lignite Investigation .. . 
European Browncoal . 
Uses of European Browncoal . Hee 
Comparison of European and Texas Taemites 
Utilization of Texas Browncoal . 
Paleontology. . : 
Chemical Laboratory . 
Library . 
Museum . 
Co-operation mrt ie abe high Renoatee 
Office work 
Sash u' D tee Gib Cay oT yd 81 2 sheen sey ee 
PER NOWICCOINENIS fo sly Dh vee 8 ua 


REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. 


Report of Mr. W. H. von Streeruwitz . 
Theodore B. Comstock . 
WF (Cummins). 2) six 
W. Kennedy . 
CASS Tatty. 
L. E. Magnenat 


ACCOMPANYING PAPERS. 


HOUSTON COUNTY, BY W. KENNEDY. 


Introductory . 
Geography anal canaetoliy 
General Geology.. . 
PeeCen toe ss 
Quaternary 
Miocene. . 
Eocene 


[ix] 


XVil 
XVii 
Xvil 
| 
xxii 
XXV 
Xxix 
xxix 
XxXxi 
XXxil 
XxXxii 
XXXiV 
XXXix 
xl 
xlii 
xlili 
xlvi 
xlvii 
xvii 
xlviii 
xlix 
xlix 


liii 
liv 
lv 
lviii 
lix 
lxi 


H © CO ~JI Or Or 


Sree 


x CONTENTS. 


Economic Geology — 


MOTISRU Ee. tab ead. (Soh. TL ee 3S IN a 


Iron ores 
Tagnites e )-*,°-: 


Being Stones: = eae gee Wee tuttiy ht s.r 
CIBYS S06 65.60 fees SF oe Ue he dee ee i ees Mein Vay 6) ga 


SATIIGET: 3s oak RO Arla c eee eh eee 


WV ATED SUDDIY 2.2 tia ie ann ey eee Rae a et a Sousa he 


SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS, BY W. KENNEDY. 


TULLOUUCLOLY sh. seh ME near ag eee Soh Ptr eet as A ecg oat 
General Description— 
CETHOEDUS Cari Uc, Cee Pera eee OU Ale Rn ae . 
Hpceneti ney bt ae e eae ee OMe ernereris re) oo 
Basal or Wills Bore: Clays 2.5.°%.. 2° SSR) 7 lg) 6 ee 
Lignitic beden fe) a enema RT eRe aS 
Marine beds ati) 21, Pg Ey DAA ares Ca ae er 
WEA CVSTIO Pee Anes iar 2.04.5 Yay ant eee SRY al 
Lufkin or Angelina county deposits. Sere de ec ad wee hee ae 
Bayette sands: <2 2. si ae 
Fleming beds 
PIG Horene es tek SL ote, etc ee ee a 
FVECOML MEPOSIts 45 pane ADIN gate ye ea eg ee tea 
Fipod, plains oferivers 2): > Ae 2) aes ee Ue et 


Coastal prairies or plains. . 


Lacustrine formations >. .2.-2)20 90.00. Se ee 


Details of Section— 
From Terrell to Mineola . . . 
Grand Saline region . . 


From Grand Saline east to Mineola ee Si a ee 
Piomivaaneola to Dylerset. <<) 9 seamen Una ecguee oye 0 or 
Krom Tyler to Lufkin . 206.” 

Alto Section . EPROPS eR eee 

From Alto venenedat 2 ae ae J ye pg eee al 
From the Angelina river to Corrigan The, 

From Corrigan to Colmesneil. ... . <3) Ge 
Krom Rockland- to Sabine Pass." Je). J) sn ase 
Table of Elevations along Section... .......... Rap es 


LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS, BY W. F. CUMMINS. 


Onvmof the name: 24) 2% ew Sl eee eee 
Mo VOCTa DH y kya, 1. kee wal 
Canyons sR UU) AS Nok Mig at Lo a a aaa eS ose 
Sand hills...) 0° Stine is Re ke ee 
Geology— 
Brevious work Yo, ws REA 8 fe ot ee ee et hy le 
Work of the past season ...... NPE «fe Pe eT 
WUC ALY 3a. hae ae oh, Ada Te Sas ee Ol gia a 
PL@Ltiary. Sage. 5) sae RLS Ea SSS ele ot Wn 
GretaceOus. fy: saline stat gs hoe Ws ance eS er eee 


"PEIGSSIG eit hu cos. Be nis Rae eee <t Oel BaSa Se ee 


; _ Boon essen | | 
"Water . Se eee ee. 85 
Lakes and pools . 
$s TINGS: aa ~ ris 
Cee water . . 
Be Beccciption of counties . 
Armstrong — 
“Borden... 
Bailey... 
PAE RrSCoeys,: te 


“Dawson 
- ‘Deaf Smith 
sf Floyd... 
Be Gaines,\* ; 
rates 0, 
_ Howard . 
eee ‘Hockley 03 
Bam cnle x.) 
meneaT yy titty 1, 
mbar 5-2 
Lubbock 
_ Oldham . 
poqararmer, 
Potter. 
aandall: 
- Swisher . 
BES 55, ene 
s Boas - uB Bot akinns 
fee = Midland, .. 
Ectors 
; Martin . | : 
ue ee 
Soils ANF hg Mees 
- Natural growth © 
Climate #2. 
mee “Rainfall .)*% 
oy Fruit growing 
a ee 


_ Prunes 


ome ON THE GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY WEST 


re fiber New. Mexico.) 4) fe a. 
| "Valley of the Pecos peer Tae eh ete shse ss bid 
| ¥ et Carboniferous Jee Oh mrttd a tac aan 

| Geen ae Bee eA 

Tertiary . 


Xil CONTENTS. 


Economic Geology— 
, Trigation i if tne Pecos valley -v eae ee. Re te 
* Soils and waters of the Pecos Valley, 4415 0) Sao <4 dae 


STRATIGRAPHY OF THE TRIASSIC FORMATION IN NORTHWEST TEXAS, BY 
N. F. CRAKE. 


ETEEDOUCLOLY bares ok ube beer ome, ht hs SAW eit fal os 0. te 227 
Loporraphical features 24) 9.) US a ee ee Mio. ON 
Hirnolopgical characteristics. +) punt ee. oe . oa 5 
pahdstones .e'0. 8 ee one cee aeen ee emi te Sd 228 
Conglomerates 2.-. ht eases | eae ee wir. 3 20 a 
Clava Noes eine a TRIES Rae TCORN Ghote aha pect oh"! rea Oe 
Thickness and deer oemaui lee CIA GORE Pane ERuAR Made tees Pe tee 2. a, oe Se 
Stratigraphy ee Se AERIS wy PLN oe nce nay eh teas . 2 ee 
‘Lhe slower bed'yi0 "nga ee one aa otha Matte Apo ee 231 
The central beds . Rs My ST Sees eke e ODA 
Upper, Dedsiz ag ioc: Gere te ket heron, a eee Siete ww 
Drp. ofthe formation (aun a eee a, Sf AN 30 a et eae reece 
OPLINGS) os lve Hb oh aR ae igtecs «4 ka 234 
Deposition \". * es, 005) ss Be Oe eee | tee ae 234 
Local development” \:) stp a cet ee ae ene > |e RA » ee Nees 
REPORT ON THE PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA, BY E. D. COPE. 
Payette formation ® 00 > Soke o> a eee eee ite. 
Upper Cenozoic of the Staked Plaine Re ea coe 251 
Equus simplicidens, Copey. 2.) i 4 eee SUS ask. rr 
Creccoides.‘osbornii, Shufeldt:.©..) 5 22) eee ee Reon ene, 
Léstudoturgidan.sy,.%. = + foe ee ee ar Mee Me 
On a Mesozoic Pycnodont— 
Microdus dumpbleii, . 00.05 sl. Ga sp 256 
Triassic or, Dockum beds 62030 os. rece se ee oe 257 
Episcoposayrus haplocerus.: yy @al0.a), 2 et ee 3 hi Salle ene 
SHELLS COLLECTED IN A DRY SALT LAKE NEAR EDDY, NEW MEXICO, BY 
DR. V. STERKI. 
Tist'and notes...) 5 055 Se) Re eee A tae ROL Let oe lies et an 263 
REPORTS ON THE CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO RIVER, 
BY J. A. TAFF. 
Preface i.a7.¥: 5 - vite ess Ahk Sle sei 
General Beblopie on Pere araniic Reatares eR mre aroneipee 270 
Upper Gretaceons zag, ee vrs oa oA Ct So ay sccm oe vier rr 
Lower Cretaceous .. . PBR, co 2 272 
Brief Outlines of the eae North Si the! Coleradae 
Lower Cretaceous (Comanche) series . ..9. saul) 2 eee 272 
Upper Cretaceous ‘series (tia Seer eins) SARs ae 
Part I. The Bosque Division— 
Introdivetion er ee tree 
AYTisity Sand peas. wate ae as Fe Ny he AR SPB. 282 
Glen Rose (Alternatiig) bed a: Whe aed aR siete Behe CSE. Vs isis Ole, 94 fede ar 
Paltixy ‘sand ‘bed: aah soon 5), ei tn ride deat eee talks. kee 
Detailed section of the Boshe CiviSiOM Ci ase casters eat, 


The Colorado section. § hihi ee ee cae .  tAR 


CONTENTS. 


Detailed Section of —continued. 
Bosque section 
Hood County section ; 
Correlation with other eechones 
The columnar sections . 


Bosque and associated rocks at St. POE, Mohiscas ney 
The Bosque division and associated rocks west of the main Creta- 


ceous border 


Correlation of the nig: Gen meee aon Paluxy feds 
Part II. The Lampasas-Williamson Section— 


Introduction 
Stratigraphical eLoldast eae 
Carboniferous basin at Lampasas. . 


Topography of the Paleozoic floor west of Tarnracas 


Hydrography 
Bosque division 
Trinity sand... 
Glen Rose | Alternating) Bere 
Paluxy sand . 
Fredericksburg division 
Texana limestone : 
Comanche Peak racstone 
Caprina limestone . 
Fleg limestone 
Austin marble . 
Kiamitia clay 
Washita division: ..... 
Fort Worth fimesiene : 
Arietina clay 
Vola limestone . 
Upper Cretaceous series 


Red River (Lower Cross imiiers} Mien 


Eagle Ford shales . 

Austin limestone . 

Blue (Ponderosa) marl . 

' Columnar sections . 

Post-Cretaceous deposits— 
Drift of the high land 
Second bottoms . 

Economic Geology— 
ATresiar Water wa liis sasha he 
Soils 


TRANS-PECOS TEXAS, BY W. H. VON STREERUWITZ. 
Geology 

a Gosh beta 
Hazel mine . 


ee Let CU ee ene Ue wa ea J 


Xili 


301 
307 
oll 
313 
319 


320 


Ww 
bo 
OD 


www wo W ow w 
» ao wp Www we 
mMmowoot aD 


lor) 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


View of Silver Falls, Crosby county. 

Map of Houston county. 

View of scarp of Staked Plains, at Blanco canyon. 
Map of the Staked Plains. 

Triassic sections. 

View of Palo Duro canyon. 

View of Mount Blanco. 

Diagrammatic section of the Cretaceous system. 
Colorado section. 

Map of the Cretaceous area north of the Colorado river. 
Bosque section. 

Hood County section. 

Hiner-St. Joe section, 

Lampasas—Williamson section. 

Progress map. 

Hazel Mine sections. 

Houston county sections 


Bluffs of Houston county . 


Section showing irregular He nouinOn oe aan ead peek 


Section of well at Mineola. . 
Deposits of sand and clay . 
Polk County limestone 


Section from Eddy to top of Siete Blawgs 


Sterculia drakei, sp. nov. 


SH MIA WP 


Topographic phases of Trinity, Glen Reco il pater ace hie 


Section showing relations-of Blue Marl, drift and river silt. . 


ERRATA, 


Page 205, foot note: For ‘‘Silliman,’’ read ‘‘American.”’ 
Page 271, line 24: Omit “Wanting.” 


[xiv] 


f “Sy , v4 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS. 


PORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST 


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THIRD 
Pee RAPPORT 


OF THE 


Ree vomoAl SURVEY OF TEXAS. 


KE. T. DUMBLE, State Gero.oaist. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


In accordance with the originai plans of the Survey, while keeping 
steadily in view the economic features, the first year of each biennial 
term is devoted mainly to stratigraphical geology. Therefore the 
report of the work which has been done in the year just closing will 
deal largely with the details and descriptions of the character and 
extent of the rock material of the different formations over which we 
have worked, although many very important facts regarding the re- 
-sources of the regions will also be presented for the first time. 


eee er cere TET RD OY RAR. 
TOPOGRAPHY. 


The lack of accurate maps, which has been a great disadvantage to 
the Survey since its commencement, is being supplied as rapidly as 
possible by the work of the United States Geological Survey, the 
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, and by our own fizld parties. 
There is, however, very much yet to be done in this direction, owing 
to the great area covered by the State; and several portions of Texas, 
of which it is necessary to know the accurate topography before certain 
important geological questions can be satisfactorily settled, lie outside 
the present limits in which the United States Surveys are able to work, 
and are too large a task to be undertaken by this Survey under the 
present appropriations. For this reason general conclusions must some- 
times be made on data which are not as complete as they should be, 
and in consequence the details, when determined, may prove the real 
conditions to be somewhat different from our present understanding of 


XVill REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


them. Every season adds its increasing increment, however, and it is 
believed that the work now being carried on by the United States 
Geological Survey in three different portions of the State, by the 
United States Coast and Geodetic Survey on the Rio Grande border, 
together with such work as our own field parties can accomplish, will 
in a short while give us the means for all such determinations. 


CO-OPERATION OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 


The following report of the work done by the United States Geolog- 
ical Survey during the year 1891 was kindly furnished by Mr. R. U. 
Goode: | | 

The appropriation bill for the United States Geological Survey for 
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1892, provided that the amount appro- 
priated for topography should be expended in equal parts, one-half east 


’ and one-half west of the 100th meridian. 


Thus for topographical purposes there are two general branches, sep- 
arated by the 100th meridian and independent of each other — the 
eastern under Mr. Henry Gannett, and the western under Professor A. 
H. Thompson. 

According to this division of the United States, Texas is apportioned 
in approximately equal parts to the two topographic branches as above 
described. 

For administrative purposes these branches are divided into various 
divisions, the divisions again subdivided into sections, and in turn a sec- 
tion may consist of several parties. 


In this way the eastern part of Texas is attached to the Central Divis- 
ion of the Eastern Branch, and the portion west of the 100th meridian 


constitutes the Texas Division of Western Branch of Topography. 
The Central Division is under Mr. John H. Renshawe, Geographer, 
and the Texas Division is under Mr. R. U. Goode, Geographer. In the 
former division there was a small amount of work done in Texas by a 
party temporarily detailed from Arkansas Section under Mr. George T. 


Hawkins, Topographer. This work consisted in running several careful 


lines along various railroads in Cherokee, Smith, Anderson, Houston, 


Angelina and Nacogdoches counties. 

These lines were connected with the astronomical station of the United 
States Coast and Geodetic Survey at Jacksonville, were checked by nu- 
merous observations for azimuth, and when completed served the pur- 


Bh ie Sin” eee 
} ue 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xX1ix 


pose of furnishing control—that is, fixing position on earth’s surface— 
of three atlas sheets in that vicinity, a portion of two of which was 
mapped in 1889. 

The Texas Division as organized during the past field season was 
divided into two sections: 

1. The Eastern Section, which consisted of four parties, as follows: 

(a) Topographical party No. 1, under H. S. Wallace, Topographer, 
with EK. Mcl,. Long as assistant. 

(b) ‘Topographical party No. 2, under R. O. Gordon, Topographer, 
with Charles B. Green as assistant. 

(c) Triangulation party under Charles F. Urquhart, Bove sep hes, 
with Jeff. D. Reagan as assistant. 

(d) Level party, under Perry Fuller, Assistant Topographer, with 
R. B. Robertson as rodman. 

2. ‘The Trans-Pecos Section, which consisted of two parties: 

(a) Topographical party under W. H. Herron, Topographer, with 
John McConn as assistant, and 

(b) ‘Triangulation party under R. U. Goode, Geographer, with 
Joseph Jacobs as assistant. thee 

The triangulation party in Trans-Pecos Section was only in field 
about a month, having in that time completed triangulation sufficient 
to control the four sheets forming the square degree 31°-32° and 105°- 
106°, after which the party was disbanded, Mr. Jacobs reporting to 
Mr. Herron as an additional assistant, and Mr. Goode resuming his 
executive duties. 

The parties of T'exas Division as above organized were in the field 
from the latter part of May until the first week in November, during 
which time four sheets—Roby, Sweetwater, Fort McKavett, Rock 
Springs, and a portion of a fifth, Brackettville, were mapped, all being 
adjacent to and immediately west of the 100th meridian, and compris- 
ing parts of the following counties: 

Stonewall, Fisher, Nolan, Coke, Schleicher, Sutton, Edwards and 
Kinney. 

All of the work done in ‘Trans-Pecos ieaé was in EI] Paso county 
and consists of the sheets Sierra Blanca and Sierra Prieta, these being 
full sheets and forming the eastern half of the square degree 31°-32° 
and 105°-106°, and El Paso, Fort Hancock and Rio Grande sheets, 


xX REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


which are fractional, the Rio Grande crossing them and dividing their 
area between the United States and Mexico. 

At the end of the general field season in November, when the major- 
ity of the force proceeded to Washington, D. C., for office work, a small 
party under EK. MclL,. Long, Assistant Topographer, with Jeff. D. Rea- 
gan as assistant, was organized and continued in the field for the pur- 
pose of completing Brackettville sheet and surveying sheet imme- 
diately north, which work will be completed sometime in the spring. — 

The El Paso sheet was surveyed by Mr. Joseph Jacobs in the spring © 
(1891) before the regular parties were organized. 

Thus the total output in Texas for the season 1891-92 will consist 
of six complete sheets near’ the 100th meridian, and five sheets, two 
complete and three partial, in Trans-Pecos region, the whole amount- 
ing to about 9,720 square miles, as follows: 


RC GWISHRCEE ME Tih oi) Ts cos. «Sah ake, oh he tee tales eae 1,003 square miles 
CLAS TRC E37) sh) \ ete cay earlier oe en 1,008 square miles 
Bioremickavett sheet: ... sei ae by cated 1,025 square miles 
Pememesitiee chet... Lo Ws) seek Ne emcees 1,030 square miles 
RECS S MERCY eo. 75. oui OR) ck iidare (ulna ool 1,035 square miles 
repeeteviue sneet: . 6 kes PAE Ane HEN gs A 1,040 square miles 
MM ECAR COLI SECtLON Hi yi! a alte Ua wl eueees 6,141 sq. mi. 
Petite OmEa eet! US le gies fh ane 1,019 square miles 
RHC UARPIOTASSEet +h.) th ce fs Sark ee oe 1,014 square miles 
PURO OVSIICED Te! iach. ca cb eal hat tam . . . 821 square miles 
Ri er eCOCE SReetl ELI Oa Ae A en ie 665 square miles 
Pes eatar CRO Gets: pos Score. a er naan 60 square miles 
TOLeioL TatssPeCos Section. jc: u.."us..s 7s eee 3,579 sq. mi. 
rand total-lexas Division 6 ss te ~ =O 20 Sq can. 


The above togéther with area surveyed in previous years constitutes 
forty-eight atlas sheets, covering about fifty thousand square miles of 
territory, or nearly one-fifth the entire area of Texas. : 

The scale for the field work on sheets mapped last season was mile 
and half to one inch, with exception of El Paso sheet, which was 
worked on the scale of two miles to one inch, and the scale of publi- 
cation will be 1:125,000, or about two miles to one inch. ‘The contour 
interval is 25 feet except in such localities where a 50 foot interval was 


sufficient to show the detailed topography. 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. Xxi 


In addition to the sheets mentioned in the Second Annual Report, 
the following have been published: 

Dallas, Fort Worth, Cleburne, Weatherford, Palo Pinto, Eastland 
and Hayrick, and the following have been engraved and are ready to 
print: Waco, San Angelo, Albany, Eden, Ballinger, Abilene and 
Anson. 


CO-OPERATION OF THE UNITED STATES COAST AND GEODETIC 
) SURVEY. 


Captain Stelman Forney, of the United States Coast and Geodetic 
Survey, had charge of the party at work in the Rio Grande, and he is 
now engaged in extending the line southward from El Paso toward 
Presidio. : 


WORK OF THE STATE SURVEY. 

The United States Geological Survey having undertaken the topo- 
graphic mapping of Trans-Pecos Texas, Professor Streeruwitz was 
enabled to use his party on some points of special interest in connection 
with the geology and mineral resources of the region. This included 
a survey of certain portions of the Carrizo, Diabolo and Quitman 
mountains, including the Hazel mine and accompanying vein deposits 
of copper ores. 

Dr. Comstock’s party, in making the trip from San Angelo south- 
ward to Eagle Pass, and from that point to Gillespie county, secured 
all of the topography possible along their route, connecting their line 
of levels and transit line with their work of the previous year, both on 
leaving and returning. 

Professor Cummins’ party also secured some details of topography 
along their line of sections around and over the Staked Plains. 


GEOLOGY. 


In May and June the parties took the field, under instructions which 
have been faithfully and efficiently carried out, and which have resulted 
in securing information of greatest value to the State. The work, as 
outlined in the instructions given, was intended to furnish material for a 
more specific subdivision of the various formations into terranes, and 
to assist in the correlation of the deposits as they occurred in different 
portions of the State, as well as the further determination of the eco- 
nomic possibilities of each terrane as a basis for the work of next year. 


XXii REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


One general problem was given each party—the study of water supply, 
both surface and artesian. | f 

The map accompanying this report gives the general route of each 
field party. 

EAST TEXAS. 

The report of Dr. Penrose on the Tertiary deposits of the Gulf Coast 
gave us the broader characteristics of that formation with admirable 
clearness, and with such exactness that no great change has been found 
necessary. It was, however, considered desirable to subdivide the 
Timber Belt and Fayette beds into such terranes as might be recogniz- 
able at this time in order that the horizons of the various clays, lignites, 
greensand marls, iron ores, etc., might be definitely determined, and 
time saved in the detailed study of the resources of the formation. 
This detailed study and subdivision was also very important to enable 
us to ascertain more positively the conditions of the artesian water 
supply. .In order that there might be no confusion of ideas regarding 
these horizons, Messrs. Taff, Kennedy and Walker first made an ex- 
amination of the Cretaceous-Tertiary contact in company, and a brief 
inspection of the Basal Clays as well. Messrs. Walker and Kennedy 
then made atrip from Terrell to Tyler, across the Basal Clays to the 
Timber Belt beds, and then each of the three took up his separate line 
of section. ‘These sections were made, using the levels of various lines 
of railroads as a base for obtaining elevations, supplemented by tran- 
sit lines and lines of levels when necessary. In this way only could 
we secure sufficiently accurate sections without topographical maps. 

Mr. Kennedy was given the eastern and by far the longest line of 
section. It began at Terrell, in Kaufman county, and followed the line 
of the Texas and Pacific Railway, via Wills Point to Mineola, the In- 
ternational and Great Northern Railroad via Tyler, Jacksonville, Trin- 
ity and Corrigan to Colmesniel, and the Sabine and East Texas Rail- 
road to the Gulf at Sabine Pass. . 

Mr. Walker’s section was west of the Colorado river, taking the line 
of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad from Cameron to Galves- 
ton as a base. 

Mr. Taff began at Corpus Christi and followed the line of the Texas- 
Mexican Railroad to Laredo, the International and Great Northern Rail- 
way to Cotulla; thence west to Carrizo Springs, and up the Nueces 
and Leona rivers to Uvalde, where he reached the Cretaceous again. 


/ 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXilt 


This gives three complete sections across the Tertiary and Quaternary 

deposits of the Gulf Coast in addition to those already made by Dr. 
Penrose and myself, and will enable us to differentiate the formations 
much more closely than has heretofore been possible. 

In addition to the work of these sections, Mr. Kennedy madea 
detailed study of Houston county, and Mr. Walker a similar study of 
Washington county and various separated localities of interest. 

The Basal Clays have been extended by this season’s work to cover 
Tertiary materials lying below the beds first described, thus adding 
considerably to their thickness. ‘The Timber Belt beds, which are in 
great part at least of Claiborne age, as determined by their fossil con- 

tents, have been more fully studied, but as yet no final divisions are 
made in them, and it will require detailed study over a wider area before - 
this can be done satisfactorily. This is rendered necessary by the 
character of the materials, which are largely uncompacted, and the 
manner of their deposition, which was often in bays or coastal lagoons, 
as well as by the fact that the present comparatively level surface of the 
area occupied by them affords few opportunities for sections of any 
considerable length. It may be found practicable, on further investi- 
gation, not only to make such divisions as alternating lignite and iron 
deposits, but also to combine the upper members of the Timber Belt beds 
and lower part of the Fayette beds into a division representative of the 
Oligocene, or Jackson of Alabama. 

The character of the Miocene, to which the Fayette beds have been 
referred, has been studied and many new facts obtained, including 
several localities of fossil beds containing casts of a bivalve which Dr. 
W.H. Dall considers to be possibly a WMacoma. ‘The specimens occur- 
ring at the base of the sandstone are, however, very imperfect. 

Overlying these Fayette beds, and stretching still further to the north 
and west, are the deposits of gravel and sand. In places these are 
mixed with clay, especially in the eastern half of the State, but to the 
west a calcareous material takes the place of the clay and forms a 
conglomerate, which caps even the higher Cretaceous hills as far west 
as Del Rio, and is found in all the canyons making up into the plateau 
country. In places this calcareous deposit takes the form of beds of 
limestone, one of which was described by Dr. Penrose under the name 
Reynosa beds. I have intended the name to cover the entire division. 
This may also include the Texas representatives of the Orange sands, 


+ 


XX1V REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


or Lafayette formation as it is now known, which have been up to this 
time classed as Quaternary by us. 

The beds which we have classed as Quaternary are the mateeene 
corresponding to the Lafayette formation in Eastern Texas and the 
overlying Coast Clays. Above these come the deposits of the present 
rivers and gulf coast. 

The section of the artesian well at Galveston, which is now over 
2400 feet in depth, gives an idea of the thickness of the deposits, and 
of some of the Tertiary as well: 


Total. 
PRBCOHE RR Sly Mil odin. of da ahi wat up’, opie Va Fide ohc ve eile ete ee ae 46 
eC aSt al Cla ya nr TaN ie Ra a oe Sah nigh et tte et AD Oe 8 aaa or 269 315 
Lafayette formation becca se gee AT eae a ETS 5a ah oe 148 458 
DRA Velte Sands 7 oy.) a My cee ee ee cone 830 =1288 
Miocene a 
Tusayette (Clays. 24 oe Se ee 587 1875 
TENG Yolo Les DO ee re em eR GME 550 2425 


The fossils found at 2300 feet are those of Burleson shell bluff, which 
is practically in the direct line of dip from Galveston, distant 140 miles, 
with a difference in elevation not exceeding 350 feet, which would give 
these beds the average dip of 18 feet per mile. 

In this area the wide spread character of the lignite beds has been 
clearly demonstrated, new and valuable deposits of iron ores located, 
the position of many valuable beds of clays, diatomaceous earth, green- 
sand marls and building stones determined, and the salt pp have 
been more clearly defined and described. 

The artesian water conditions are found to be favorable over a large 
district, but the wide spread character of the gravel and accompanying 
sands of the southwestern portion of the State prevented our getting 
the necessary information in that region to enable us to speak positively 
as to the likelihood of flowing wells, as we had hoped to do. 

The character of the soils of this area, with a few exceptions in East 
Texas, has not been properly appreciated. Many of them are of ex- 
cellent quality, and by proper drainage and cultivation will yield large 
returns to agriculture. They are now being studied in the laboratory, 
preparatory to a classification according to their origin and present 
qualities. 

The greensands have had special attention. Where they have been 
tried by farmers they have fully borne out all the clains which have 


"OO -AGSONOs “STiVa Seas 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXV 


been made for them by the Survey. Thus practical agriculture again 
proves the value of chemical analysis as a basis for restoring the fer- 


tility of the soil. 
CENTRAL AND WEST TEXAS. 


To secure definite information regarding the country west of the 
100th meridian, two sections were made, both starting from the vicinity 
of San Angelo. Dr. Comstock and party made a close instrumental 
section southward, through Schleicher, Sutton, Val Verde, Kinney and 
Maverick counties, to the Rio Grande; thence northward, through 
Uvalde, Edwards, Bandera, Kerr and Gillespie, connecting again with 
his work of last year. , 

Professor Cummins followed the Cretaceous escarpment west from 
San Angelo until he reached the Staked Plains. After some local 
studies, he took his party northward along the foot of the Plains to 
the line of the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. Turning westward he 
crossed over into New Mexico, and after examinations of the geology 
of certain sections, turned south and followed the valley of the Pecos 
river to Pecos City, having thus completely circled the Staked Plains. 

The object of these sections, as stated in my letters of instructions, 
were: 

A more accurate knowledge of the condition of the northern scarp 
of the Cretaceous table land and its relations to the underlying forma- 
tions; stratigraphy of the Cretaceous, and manner of disappearance 
northward under the Plains formation; geology, agriculture, grazing, 
forest and water conditions of the Staked Plains; character of the 
Cretaceous table land with iis general geology, agricultural, grazing 
and water conditions; the extension of the Silurian geanticlinal south- 
west, and its relation to the Cretaceous north and south of its mani- 
festation; the stratigraphy of the southwestern Cretaceous, and the 
determination of the probable thickening of that formation toward the 
south and west; the character and effect of the .basaltic eruptions, the 
presence or absence of beds of the Upper Cretaceous superimposed on 
those of the Lower in the table land; mineral resources and artesian 
water conditions of this region. 

This work gives a connected section from the Canadian river to the 
Rio Grande, and the results furnish us a volume of information con- 
cerning the general geology, and in regard to the water supply and 
other conditions of this hitherto little known region. 


XXV1 REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


In addition to this I made a detailed section along the Rio Grande, — 
from Del Rio to Eagle Pass, in the greater part of which I had the 
assistance of Mr. J. Owen. 

From Uvalde Mr. Taff took up the study of the Cretaceous, tracing 


the partings of the limestone and Ponderosa marl from that point to 
Austin. 


By the work we have done the boundary of the Staked Plains is 
described, and its: topographic features clearly stated. The strata cov- 
ering the surface are all found to be of later Tertiary age, certainly not 
earlier than the Loup Fork beds, and probably Pleistocene in part. 
These beds thicken toward the northwest, and at the northern scarp of 
the Plains rest directly upon rocks of Triassic age. The Triassic rocks 
underlie the Plains material as far south as the thirty-third degree of 
latitude, or a little lower, beyond which point a thin series of the Cre- 
taceous rocks, thickening towards the south, appears between the Tri- 
assic and Blanco Canyon beds. 

On the western side of the Plains the erosion of the Pecos river has 
cut through the Plains material and underlying formations to its 
present channel. The determination of the Cretaceous age of the 
Tucumcari beds, and that these beds are higher in that system than 
the Caprina limestone, and occur without any recognizable beds of the 
Fredericksburg, or older Cretaceous, below them, is of considerable 
scientific value. The same fact was observed along the entire western 
side of the Plains. The age of the deposits as here given are fully 
proven by the fossils obtained from them. 

South of the Staked Plains lies an elevated Cretaceous table land, 
rising from the surrounding country both on the north and south by a 
steep escarpment. The rocks of this plateau are of Lower Cretaceous 
age, and passing from east to west its lower beds are in contact succes- 
sively with those of Cambrian, Silurian, Carboniferous, Permian and 
Triassic age. Passing south to the Rio Grande, successively higher 
Cretaceous beds are encountered, thickening rapidly and overlapping 
like shingles upon a roof. The same relations are apparent in higher 
beds down the Rio Grande from Del Rio to Kagle Pass. ‘The presence 
of a pre-Cretaceous fold, which has had a marked influence upon the 
deposits of that age and upon the subsequent topography and drainage 
of the State, is determined, as well as the fact that the later basaltic 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXVI1 


outflows have frequently used the lines of weakness in the trend of the 
disturbance which formed the fold. 

The topographic features of the plateau have been studied, and the 
difference due to different geologic structure in the river system of the 
plateau and those lying north of the fold clearly shown. ! 

Much information regarding the basaltic outflow was obtained, but 
is not yet thoroughly worked out. The present indications are, that 
they began towards the west, during the Lower Cretaceous period, and 
continued in operation until the middle of the Upper Cretaceous, pos- 
sibly extending gradually eastward or northeastward during the time. 

Between Del Rio and Eagle Pass—or more properly speaking, Webb 
Bluff, some forty miles below that city—we have a section of the Upper 
Cretaceous series which is somewhat different in character from that of 
the Central Texas area. The Fish beds of the latter are here repre- 
sented by the Val Verde Flags, a series of limy flags and clays having 
a thickness of some six hundred feet. The overlying Pinto limestones, 
which compare in every way with the Austin limestone, are also much 
more strongly developed, and give a section of some fifteen hundred 
feet. But the greatest difference is to be observed in the beds which 
overlie these. Their development is so great that I have placed them 
in a separate division, and called it the’ Eagle Pass Division. ‘The two 
lower members of the division, the Upson clays and San Miguel sands, 
are represented in the Central Texas section by the Blue or Ponderosa 
marl and the Navarro or Glauconitic beds, respectively, as fully de- 
termined by the fossils found in them; but so far nothing corresponding 
to the Coal series and Escondido beds (Marine Cretaceous), which over- 
lie these on the Rio Grande, have been recognized in the Colorado 
section. The total thickness of the different beds is over five thousand 
feet, if the average dip of one hundred feet per mile, which has been 
proved above Eagle Pass, holds good for the portion of the section 
below that point. Proceeding southeast toward the Gulf we find these 
beds directly overlaid by deposits of Eocene and later age. 

The water supply of the Plains was fully investigated, and it was 
found that although there is no hope of obtaining artesian water, except 
in rare instances, the supply to be had in wells is practically unlimited. 
These wells vary in depth from twenty feet to three hundred feet, accord- 
ing to localities. The springs and streams find their supply from the 
same source as that of the wells. West of the Plains water is easily 


XXVIli REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


obtained in shallow wells, while along the Pecos, on the eastern side of 
the Guadalupe mountains, the supply is abundant, and in places artesian 
flows can be secured. ‘The only minerals of the Plains are the gypsum 
and salt. ‘The soils are of great fertility, and the rainfall, although not 
so abundant as it is further east, is nevertheless fully sufficient to mature 
good crops in most seasons, for the reason that it falls during the time 
at which it can be of most service—in the summer. 

Perhaps one of the most useful results of the season’s work is the 
demonstration of the agricultural capacity of the Plateau region in which 
the valley soils, which cover a large area in the aggregate, are not only 
excellently adapted for tillage, but are so situated that they can be irri- 
gated in many places from the abundant supply of water that was found 
to exist at no great depth below the surface, ‘‘which appears to be a vast 
body of underground water lying like an overflowing lake beneath this 
great divide.’’ The great value of the determination of this immense 
water supply underlying the Staked Plains and the Plateau, which is 
accessible by wells over so wide an area, and breaks out in bold and 
never-failing springs in so many places, is so self-evident that words 
could not enhance it. 

The more barren highlands are well adapted for sheep raising, while 
the pecan growth of the southward flowing river valleys is of such extent 
and character as to furnish the basis for a great industry in itself. 

The mineral resources of the plateau are confined to ochres, kaolin, 
lime and cement materials and building stones. 

The principal economic materials of the Cretaceous region south of 
the plateau are the coal, asphaltum, clays and artesian water. ‘The 
Eagle Pass coal basin has been described previously. ‘The northern 
outcrop of the coal seam has now been traced and mapped, and its rela- 
tions to the underlying and overlying materials studied in such a manner 
that they can be used as indicators of its presence and its approximate 
depth at any given point, or its entire absence. 

The asphaltum deposits which were described by Mr. Owen in the 
First Report of Progress, have been examined, first by the party under 
Dr. Comstock and afterward more in detail by Mr. F. S. Ellsworth, and 
my first statements regarding their character and value verified and en- 
larged. They are much more extensive than has previously been sus- 
pected. 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXix 


CENTRAL CRETACEOUS AREA. 


Having completed his work on the Tertiary section, I gave Mr. Taff 
the study of a strip of Cretaceous, beginning at the Carboniferous- 
Cretaceous contact in Lampasas county, crossing the formation to the 
Cretaceous-Tertiary contact in Williamson county. ‘This had for its 
object a clearer definition of our Cretaceous ina typical section, and 
especially the relation of the stratigraphical and economic conditions 
of the formation. | 

From the study of widely separated sections some complications had 
arisen and an uncertainty as to the relations of certain beds of the for- 
mation. A very careful study was, therefore, made of the lower beds 
from Red River to Austin and the exact relationship determined. ‘This 
work, as will be seen froin the paper accompanying this report, devel- 
oped the fact that the Alternating beds of our Colorado section, as 
previously published, are in fact an integral part of the Trinity sands 
of the same section, and are overlaid by asecond series or continuation 
of the same sands, the Paluxy. ‘Its extent and character warrant the 
giving to it of a divisional name, and we have therefore called it the 
Bosque Division, and include in it the Trinity sands, Alternating beds 
and Paluxy beds. 

The work on the Lampasas-Williamson section was also of great 
value stratigraphically. Horizons not previously observed in this sec- 
tion were found and studied, and in many cases their exact areal extent 
Within the section mapped. ‘The artesian water conditions were deter- 
mined and the results appear in the accompanying report. The results 
are such as will make the further study of the Cretaceous and its re- 
sources much simpler than it has been. 


TRANS -PECOS TEXAS. 


In this district, through the work of Professor W. H. Streeruwitz 
and his party, the rocks of Carboniferous age, which had been pre- 
viously described, have been traced and mapped over a large area; the 
age and relations of certain conglomerates, which have been a disturb- 
ing element in the study of the region, have been decided; the exact 
stratigraphic relationship between the schists and the red grit has been 
determined, through sections fortunately laid open by the torrential 
rain storm which occurred in the latter part of the summer. Some 
fossils have been secured, which, although badly preserved, will, it is 


XXX REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


hoped, give an idea as to their geologic age. ‘The extent of the crys- 
talline schists, which near Eagle Flat are associated with strongly 
metamorphosed cherty limestones, true marbles, etc., is found to be 
much greater than was suspected. ‘This is the series of rocks which I 
suggested in the First Annual Report were probably the equivalents 
of the Texas system of the Central Mineral District. 

MINERALS.—The ore-bearing character of the Carrizo mountains is 


fully proved—magnetic iron, copper and lead ores, with silver and. 
gold, having been found, and good results shown wherever prospect- 


ing has been done. ‘The Hazel. mine was carefully studied, as being 
the best developed property in the district, and the report contains a 
description showing the amount and character of work which has been 
done in it. The production has already exceeded $60,000 although 
very little stoping has been done. ‘The fine marbles of this range will 
some day attract the attention they so richly deserve. 

WATER SuppLty.—The first requisite to the proper development of 
Trans—Pecos Texas is an adequate and constant water supply. Profes- 
sor Streeruwitz, in every report he has made, from the beginning of the 
Survey, has urged this matter strenuously, showing that wells or 
streams could not be depended on, and that the storage of water in 
reservoirs was the only practical way of accomplishing this end. He 
also shows that the character of the topography and the rock forma- 
tion is such that there are many places at which storage reservoirs 
could be built at moderate cost, which would be suitably located for 
irrigating large bodies of very fertile lands, or for use in mining opera- 
tions, or for the raising of stock. His own observations, as well. as 


those of the government observers at Fort Davis and Fort Bliss, prove 


that the annual rainfall is sufficient to give an adequate supply for all 
these purposes if it is properly cared for. The greatest obstacle to be 
overcome is the fact of the larger part of the lands being sectionized, 
and the alternating sections belonging to the State and railroads re- 
spectively, so that no one could get a sufficient amount of land in a body 
to warrant the expenditure necessary for building a dam. 

During my visit to his camp in the Diabolo mountains, last summer, 
this matter was one of the most constant discussion, and it finally 
occurred to me that there might be a possibility of the inauguration of 
this work by the State, provided locations could be found which would 
be entirely on the State lands, and that it would be possible to utilize 


ae Sh i 4 
i deck 
de 2 


? he 
ee te ‘ 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xxxi 


convict labor in building the dams and in the necessary preparations 
for irrigation. The State, in its various branches of University, Public 
School, Asylum and unoccupied lands, is most largely interested in 
this section. These lands are practically valueless in their present 
waterless condition, whereas, with such a supply of water as can be 
secured by this means they can be made to ‘“‘blossom as the rose,’’ and 
made to support a large population and remunerate the State a thou- 
sand fold for the outlay necessary for their reclamation. 

Upon my return to Austin the matter was referred to the Commis- 
sioner, Mr. Hollingsworth, and Governor Hogg, and instructions were 
given us to ascertain whether suitable localities could be found affect- 
ing only State lands. 

Some difficulty was experienced in locating such corners as would 
show that the land was all undoubtedly public land, but there are 
places, without doubt, in the region northeast of Van Horn, which 
will afford suitable localities for such reservoirs. 

Major Powell, Director of the United States Geological Survey, has 
- promised not only to designate such localities as may be found by the 
topographic parties at work in the district, but also to estimate cubical 
contents, height of dam and other details, thereby greatly facilitating 
our work. 

THE GALVESTON ARTESIAN WELL. 

The city of Galveston having decided to bore an artesian well to a 
depth of three thousand feet, I considered it of highest importance to 
secure an accurate record of the boring with specimens of all the ma- 
terials penetrated. I therefore commissioned Mr. J. A. Singley to 
watch the progress of the well and take specimens of the materials as 
they came out together with all the fossils he could secure. During 
the entire boring he was present night and day, taking specimens 
every few feet, or as often as the materials changed. By this means 
we have secured as exact a record as is possible from a well sunk by 
_ this system, and the information obtained will be of great value in the 
work of the Survey. The well was not completed at the close of the 
year, but from an examination of the fossils found in the lower stratum 
_ we ascertained that they were in beds belonging to the Eocene or Lower 
Tertiary and that, judging from our section on the Brazos river, it 
would not be very far to the Cretaceous rocks. ‘The observations will 
be continued until the completion of the well. 


a 


XXX REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


LIGNITE INVESTIGATION. 


In consequence of my previous investigations and reports on this 
subject and the urgent need for a cheaper fuel for the development of 
manufactures in a large portion of the State, an appropriation was 
made at the regular session of the T'wenty-second Legislature ‘‘to ex- 
amine and test the quality and value and best method of utilizing the 
various kinds of lignite in this State.’’ 

In pursuance of this law, under the instructions of Hon. Jno. EH. 
Hollingsworth, Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics and History, I 
went to Europe and examined the various deposits of lignite or brown- 
coal and the processes by which they were utilized. 


At the International Congress of Geologists held in Washington, Dag 


C., in August, I met many European geologists who gave me much 
information and assistance in this work. ‘ a 
During my stay in Germany I made Halle, a. S. my headquarters, 
that being the center of the greatest browncoal deposit of Germany. 
From this point I visited the various mines and factories of the pro- 
vince of Saxony, and also those of the Rhine provinces. In Austria I 
visited the mines and factories of Styria and Bohemia. I was every- 
where accorded the fullest opportunity for securing the information of 
which I was in search, and which could only have been gotten by just 
such personal examination as I made, and could not by any possible 
means have been secured by correspondence in so detailed and exact a 
degree. ; 

The general facts as submitted in my preliminary report are again 
given herewith. 

EUROPEAN BROWNCOAL. 

The browncoal of Europe may be divided into four general classes, 
viz: 1, Lignite; 2, Common Browncoal; 38, Pech Coal; 4, Glance 
Coal—all of which have representatives in Texas. 


LIGNITE. 

‘In Germany and Austria this term is only used to designate 
such fossil fuel as fully retains its woody character and fiber. It is 
usually found accompanying other varieties of browncoal, and consists 
of those fragments of the original woody material from which the beds 
were formed that have escaped maceration and decomposition. In 
some places, however, when conditions were favorable to its preserva- 
tion it forms the main body of the deposit. Sometimes it occurs 


RFPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXXili 


surrounded by earthy browncoal, and often has particles of fatty 
browncoal or jet inclosed with it, following the rings of growth. 
Much of it as it comes from the mine retains its form and character so 
completely as to be almost indistinguishable from the ordinary wood of 
the present time, except that it is somewhat darker in color. 


COMMON BROWNCOAL. 

This name covers a number of varieties, varying in color from yel- 
low to brownish black, and from those having a specific gravity less 
than water to those of 1.2 and 1.5. Their common qualities are their 
large percentage of water and their earthy, friable nature. The two 
most important of these varieties are ‘‘Schweelkohl’’ and Earthy 
Browncoal. | 

SCHWEELCOAL.—This variety, in its purest form, resembles a yellow 
clay much more closely than it does coal. Its composition and char- 
_ acter, as revealed by chemical analysis and the microscope, vary 
: somewhat from the other browncoals, and it is the variety which has 
the least specific gravity. It is the richest in tarry matter, and is 
therefore especially desirable for the manufacture of paraffine and oils. 
It occurs most frequently with earthy browncoal and often in alternat- 
ing layers with that variety. 7 

EARTHY BROWNCOAL.—This variety of browncoal is, as its name 
indicates, of an earthy character, brown to brownish black in color, in 
its ordinary condition containing as much as forty-five or even fifty 
per cent of moisture. While it somewhat resembles our Texas brown- 
coal, especially in the fatty streaks which occur in it, the German is 
much more friable than ours and also much inferior to it in heat- 
ing value in the raw state on account of the great percentage of water 
it contains. This is the character of browncoal that is found most 
largely developed in the district around Halle, a. S., and in the Rhine 
provinces. Much of it lies very near the surface, in beds varying 
from a few inches to sixty feet in thickness, and is most often mixed 
with Schweelcoal to a greater or less extent. From this variety of 
browncoal is manufactured the ‘“‘nass-press-stein’’ and browncoal bri- 


quettes without bond. 
PECH COAL, 


A darker and firmer variety of browncoal, which contains a smaller 
amount of water, and which often closely resembles pitch both in color 
and fracture, is called Pech coal. The coal of the Bohemian basins is 


XXXIV REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. - 


very largely a mixture of common browncoal (of somewhat drier na- 
ture than the German) and Pech coal, together with some lignite, and 
is the equivalent of the larger part of our Texas deposits. 


GLANCE COAL. 


This is the finest variety of lgnitic or browncoal, in certain in- 
stances passing into jet. It occurs principally in Styria with other 
varieties of browncoal, although smaller quantities occur in many lo- 
calities. 

These varieties are again subdivided into minor divisions, and they 
pass by insensible gradations one into the other, frequently in one and 
the same bed. 


SLATISTICS: 


The following statistics, taken from the government reports of the 
empires of Germany and Austria, show to what extent these brown- 
coals were used during the year 1890: 


Tons mined. ‘Value at mine. 


CORRE BI deh ol rv ae ea Rane aaa Gg a 15,468,484  %9,967,812 00 
PGS A Sore. fp ade whe, (ee Be Pea RA 15,329,056 12,482,603 00 

Otay: CRAY wera tater aon) at ema enee. SAE icy 30,697,490 $22,450,415 00 

Of which— 

Rhine Provinces le Ales Pa eae Os a ee 661,590 $381,139 00 
Hallé; aass ee eae alae he ee, a 14,077,382 9,031,238 00 
Styria iio ou ccsips Sal eee tn eae ees 2,270,023 2,942,327 00 
Bohemiasa Ae cba (SAG ei Sete ona ie MeL aie kad 2 ane 12,190,932 8,240,780 00 


This amount, over three hundred thousand car loads, is nearly thirty 
per cent of the entire coal (stone coal and browncoal) production of 
these empires, which was (for 1890) 104,702,370 tons. Of the total 
amount of browncoal mined, the district around Halle, Germany, and 
Bohemia and Styria, in Austria, produced eighty per cent. 

The amount of brown coal used in the manufacture of briquettes, coal 
bricks, tar, paraffine, etc., during the year was a little less than seven 
million tons, and the remainder—over twenty-three million tons—was 


”) 


used ‘‘raw,’’ or just as it came from the mine, without preparation of 


any kind. 
USES OF EUROPEAN BROWNCOAL. 


As has already been stated in our circular No. 8 and in the various 
reports of this Survey, the uses of browncoal are as varied, general and 


en. . n> eee a c 3 


—_— ~~. 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXXV 


important as those of stone coal. The results of my personal investiga- 
' tions not only fully confirm the statements made heretofore by myself 
and other members of the Survey, in regard to the availability of the 
Texas browncoal for fuel purposes, but add greatly to them. 


LIGNITE. 


When lignite is found in sufficient quantity, it is charred in meilers, 
kilns or retorts, in the same manner as ordinary wood, and yields a char- 
coal of similar quality, and equally suitable for all fuel purposes. Thus, 
in lower Styria, where it occurs in great quantities as a part of a brown- 
coal deposit, having a total thickness of over three hundred feet, it is 
charred in ovens arranged for the recovery of the by-products as well as 
the charcoal. ‘The charcoal made here is used in iron smelting. 

Where the lignite occurs in smaller quantities, as in the province of 
Saxony and on the Rhine, it is used with the browncoals under steam 
boilers and for various other fuel purposes. 


COMMON BROWNCOAL,. 


The Schweelcoal, as has already been stated, contains large amounts 
of tarry matter, and for this reason is especially desired by the Schweel- 
eries or factories, which manufacture from it the tar and its derivatives, 
paraffine and oils of various grades. ‘These oils vary in quality from 
one especially adapted for the manufacture of gas for lighting pur- 
poses, through heavy and light oils to a solar oil about equivalent to 
our best refined petroleum. While the introduction of American and 
Russian petroleum into Germany has in some measure checked the 
working of the Schweeleries for oil purposes, the demand for paraffine 
is so great as to keep the factories still at full work. This industry, 
as shown by the statistics given, is one of great importance to these 
districts of Germany, amounting as it does to over four millions of 
dollars annually and giving employment to several thousand men. 
The records of the German Browncoal Association show that in the 
year 1890 the amount of browncoal used by the companies belonging 
to the association for the manufacture of tar and paraffine was over 
twenty millions hectolitres, and the value of the product seventeen 
million one hundred and twenty thousand marks ($4,280,000). The 
coke made from the Schweelcoal by this process is called ‘“‘grude coke,”’ 
and experience has proved it to be such an excellent fuel for house- 
hold purposes that the demand is in excess of the supply. It is used 


XXXVI REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


in stoves of special construction for cooking and heating. Itis of too 
fine a grain and not compact enough to be of any use in smelting iron. — 

The earthy browncoal is used ‘‘raw,’’ or as it is mined, for house- 
hold, manufacturing, or steam purposes, and is also manufactured 
into nass-press-stein and briquettes. 

Nass-press-stein, or coal bricks, are made by mixing the browncoal 
with water until it is of a putty-like consistency, compressing by ma- 
chinery similar to that used in making pressed brick, and then drying 
these brick in the air. While the amount of this fuel is small in com- 
parison with that of briquettes made by the dry method, it is never- 
theless a useful and serviceable fuel for household purposes. 

Dry briquettes, made from this variety of browncoal, are in great 
demand, and the output is increasing yearly. “The process of manu- 
facture consists of drying the browncoal by one of the several methods 
until the water contained in it is reduced to a certain percentage and 
then compressing it under a pressure equal to that of fifteen hundred 
to two thousand atmospheres. ‘The resulting briquette is of a lozenge 
or elliptical shape, some six inches in length and about one inch in 
thickness, very firm and durable. ‘The compression is so perfect that 
the briquette will not absorb water even if it be laid in it for some 
time. The earthy browncoal is preferred for briquette making on ac- 
count of the ease with which it is pulverized. 

In a raw state browncoal is also used for burning bricks, stoneware, 
and drain tile, for which purposes it is preferred to any other fuel. 
Brick clays and fire clays are often found in close proximity to the 
browncoal, and the manufacture of bricks, fire brick and tiles, at an 
extremely low price, is thus rendered practicable, and a great number 
of mines have brick yards in connection with them by means of which 
they are enabled to make use of all their coal, even what would other- 
wise be refuse. 

At one of the larger brick works on the Rhine the experience of 
several years trial proved that a firing with a mixture of browncoal 
briquettes and raw browncoal gave better results in actual work than 
stone coal alone, stone coal with briquettes, or stone coal and raw 
browncoal, and at the time of my visit works were just being com- 
pleted for briquetting their browncoal for use in this manner. 

In using this earthy browncoal for such firing purposes, or under 
steam boilers and elsewhere, due attention is given to the arrangement 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXXVI 


of the fire-boxes and grates to suit the fuel. Ifa flat grate is used the 
grate bars are made very narrow and with small intervals between each, 
The favorite grate, however, is called the ‘‘treppen rost,’’ and is a grate 
atrariged in a series of steps by which the air gets proper access to the 
browncoal without need of a blast sufficient to carry away the smaller 
particles unburned. 

For household purposes stoves of suitable construction for cooking 
and heating, using raw browncoal or briquettes as fuel, are for sale 
everywhere in Germany. ‘The briquettes are preferred for fuel on ac- 
count of their cleanliness and freedom from smoke in burning. 

The comparative extent of the use of the various fuels in the ardi- 
nary way may be seen from the statistics of the fuel supply of the 
city of Berlin for the year 1890, taken from the annual report of the 
Kohlenzeitung: 


mae COAIRCOMSS CLOG 4c). ois ke hige ve Sete 1,755,383 tons 
MovemigseOrowuCanr were). WF ee er! Le) 44. 242,027 tons 
ernan Growncoal-pricuettes . os oT Re 577,674 tons 
Breet, DLO WhiCOG le a meds tr co) seis th. tae Ye es AS ee 21,534 tons 
BE OVAL LOMILCOD Ms Fated iota Spa aes eh ap ok wee 841,235 tons 


or about thirty-one per cent of the entire fuel supply. 

A great many tests have been made to determine the ratio of fuel 
value of the German browncoal and stone coal. The results give the 
ratio between the Westphalian coal and earthy browncoal and briquettes 
about the following relation in amounts required to produce the same 
amount of steam: 


Westphalian Coal. German Browncoal. Briquettes. 

1 2 to 24 1} to 14 
The Bohemian browncoal contains less moisture than the common 
browncoal of Germany, and is therefore a better fuel in its raw state. 
Throughout Bohemia it is put to every use—domestic, manufacturing 
or metallurgical—for which stone coal is used, except the smelting of 
iron ores and production of pig iron. The locomotives, which have 
very heavy work over the mountain railways, use it exclusively. Brick 
works, chemical works, glass factories, firebrick and tile works, pot- 
teries, cement factories and limekilns are all run successfully and 
economically with this browncoal as their only fuel. It is used as fuel 
exclusively by the largest iron and steel works of the country for the 


XXXVil1 REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


processes of converting pig iron into wrought iron and steel and for 
rolling this into rails, bars, wire, sheet iron and all similar products. 

The use of this fuel in this manner was made possible by a close 
technical study of its character and a practical application of the results 
to manufacturing purposes. The construction of the fireboxes and 
grates is such that the necessary conditions to its best utilization are 
fulfilled, and when high heats are wanted for smelting iron or heating 
ingots, as in the manufacture of wrought iron and steel and in rolling 
mill work generally, gas firing is resorted to. 

This kind of firing, which is the one most generally in use with the 
browncoal for all purposes where the higher temperatures are required, 
has several different methods of application, varying with the purpose 
for which the heat is required, but all having the same general princi- 
ple at the foundation. | 

The browncoal is first converted into gas by burning in a producer 
of some description, usually a rectangular firebox with treppen rost 
grate, fed from above. The gases produced in burning are carried off by 
proper conduits, the tarry matters separated, in part at least, by passing 
through an hydraulic main, and the remaining fixed gases pass either 
directly to the furnace or more often through a Siemens regenerative 
furnace to the place where they are burned. Here they are mixed with 
heated air, and the heat produced by the combustion is ample for any 
and all purposes for which it may be required. The Bohemian brown- 
coal has also been successfully briquetted after the German or dry 
method already mentioned, and a factory has been in operation for 
several years at Koenigsberg, near Carlsbad. 

This coal has also been coked by several methods, but up to the present 
time the coke has not been brought into use as fuel. In some places 
this was prevented by the character of the coke itself, which was unsuited 
for blast furnace purposes. In other cases, when the coke was suitable 
for such use, the cost of producing it was so great that it could not suc- 
cessfully compete with the cheap Silesian coke from stone coal. 

In Styria there is found a still drier browncoal, which in places very 
closely resembles jet. It is probably the equivalent of our Laredo coal, 
except that it contains very much less ash. This browncoal is of excel- 
lent quality, and has also been coked by methods similar to those used 
with the Bohemian, but the coke is not in use at present for the same © 
reasons given above. It has, however, been found not only practicable 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. XXX1X 


but economical to use thirty per cent and upward of this raw coal in con- 
nection with coke from stone coal in the blast furnace for smelting iron 
ore, and there are iron furnaces which have been in operation for years 
using this character of fuel. 

This browncoal, mixed with a lignitic coal, is used in the same vicinity 
for rolling mills, steel and wrought iron production, ete. The brown- 
coal of Bohemia and Styria is also used in the manufacture of gas for 
lighting purposes. It is distilled in retorts of the usual form, and the 
operation differs in nowise from that with ordinary bituminous coal, 
except that the heated air from the furnace is used to evaporate the 
surplus moisture from the raw browncoal before it is put in the retort. 
The gas coke made from the browncoal in Bohemia is sold for use in 
the zinc works. 

In Styria a browncoal similar to that of Texas is briquetted with a 
bond of stone coal pitch. Only the smalls are used, because there is 
usually a demand for all the lump coal that can be mined throughout 
this whole region, and the briquette industry is therefore not needed. 
The briquettes are, notwithstanding, sold at a price fully equal to that 
of stone coal. The system used is the Coufinhal, and the briquettes are 
like those now in the Museum of the Survey, which were made during 
my earlier experiments. 

From these facts it will be seen that the browncoals of Germany and 
Austria are not only adapted for use as fuel for all purposes, but that 
they are so used, and used successfully. Moreover, the statistics show 
conclusively that the browncoal industry of Germany and Austria is 
one of very great magnitude, and it will be shown by a comparison of 
statistics for twenty or thirty years past that the increase in the produc- 
tion of browncoal has kept fully abreast of that of stone coal. 


COMPARISON OF EUROPEAN AND TEXAS LIGNITES. 


‘As stated in the beginning of this Report, I have compared our 
Texas lignites with those of Germany and Austria, and find that we 
have representatives of the various classes mentioned. I have per- 
sonally examined the various classes of browncoal as they occur in 
the deposits, as they come from the mine, and as they are used in 
their various applications, and I have compared them with our Texas 
lignites, both in their physical character and chemical composition, 
with the result as stated. I have submitted average specimens of our 


xl REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


Texas browncoals to the highest authorities on this subject in: Ger- 
many and Austria, and they, without exception, confirm my state- 
ment, and unite in pronouncing the Texas browncoals of excellent 
quality, fully equal to the Bohemian, and equally suitable for use for 
all domestic, industrial and metallurgical purposes. I have therefore 
the pleasure of reiterating the statement made several times already, 
and each time supported by stronger evidence, that Texas has in the 
immense deposits of browncoal a cheap fuel which can be used for every 
purpose for which fuel is needed. 

It should, however, be plainly understood in the beginning, that 
the browncoals of Texas will be found to differ very widely in quality, 


and it will require analyses of each deposit to tell with certainty for — 


what purpose it is best adapted. Deposits will be found containing 
too large a percentage of ash, and some perhaps too large a percentage 
of sulphur, to be of value as fuel, although other uses may be found 
for them. ‘Those that are suited for briquetting without bond may 
not serve equally well for other purposes, and some of the varieties of 
browncoal will not form a briquette at all by the dry method. 

It is impossible, with detached basins of browncoal, formed under 
somewhat diverse conditions and stretching across an area seven hun- 
dred miles in length, that all should be equally good. ‘That there is 
an abundance of the material that is of a most excellent quality is 
shown by the examinations and analyses already made by the Survey 
of deposits and specimens from all portions of the lignite belt, and yet 
other of these analyses also prove the existence of deposits which are 
comparatively worthless. 

Therefore, in any undertaking having browncoal as its basis of 
supply, either as fuel or raw material for manufacturing purposes, an 
accurate knowledge of the material should be obtained before opera- 
tions are begun. 

UTILIZATION OF TEXAS BROWNCOAL. 

The fact of the great fuel value of the browncoal having been thus 
fully decided, I have endeavored to secure all possible information, 
and when practicable the detailed drawings or plans of the various 
kinds of ovens, fireboxes, grates and appliances for using browncoal. 
Some of these are the subjects of patents, and can therefore only be 
used under royalty or purchase; others, and some of these the most 


important, are not patented and are free to all. 
Through the kindness of the owners of the iron works and rolling 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xli 


mills in Bohemia and Styria, I have secured plans in detail of the fire- 
boxes, gas producers, and arrangements by means of which they use 
the raw browncoal for the purposes stated. I have also the plan of the 
blast furnaces which are now in operation using a mixed fuel of coke 
and raw browncoal. | 

From the manufacturers of locomotives I have detailed plans of the 
fireboxes used on such locomotives as are intended for browncoal. 
All of these plans and methods are.applicable for the use of our Texas 
browncoal for similar purposes. 

The machinery for the production of briquettes by the dry method 
is manufactured in Germany, the most of it under patents.- General 
descriptions and estimates of the cost of erection are in the office. 

Presses and machinery for the production of briquettes using pitch 
as a bond are manufactured in Germany, France and England. I have 
plans and estimates of the different styles and sizes of these showing 
approximate cost of erection and operation. 

Plants for the production of tar, paraffine, oils, etc., from the brown- 
coals are of a much more complex nature. General plans and esti- 
mates are now in the office, and details will be furnished me as soon 
as they can be prepared. 

Some of the principal uses of our browncoal will undoubtedly be in 
the manufacture of brick, firebrick, drain tile, paving tile, stoneware, 
pottery, glassware, cement and lime. Plans for the construction of 
ovens especially designed for these purposes, and in successful use in 
Germany with browncoal firing, are also being prepared. 

All of these are at the service of those interested in the subject. 

It can be stated now from experiments and analyses already made, 
both by private individuals and by the Survey, that we know that we 
have in the Texas browncoals certain varieties that are rich in tarry 
matter which will serve as a source of paraffine, and that some varie- 
ties can be briquetted with pitch as a bond and others by the dry 
method. 

Special examinations and tests of our Texas browncoal by the 
largest browncoal manufacturing establishment in Europe, by the va- 
rious methods of briquette manufacture in Germany and France, and 
by other specialists are now in progress, and as soon as their final 
reports are received the results will be published, together with the 
details of the various plants, estimates of the cost of erection, opera- 
tion, etc. 


aw 


xlii REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


PALKONTOLOGY. 


The assistance afforded us by specialists in this branch of geology 
during the second year of the work of the Survey was not only con- 
tinued but greatly increased during the year that has just closed. In . 
this, as in our topographic work, we are under renewed obligations to 
the United States Geological Survey. 

In reply to a request for their assistance in this line of work, I re- 
ceived a letter from the Director, promising full co-operation, and in 
the work of the whole year the promptness of the determinations and 
replies to inquiries by every member of the Survey with whom we 
have had correspondence have been of greatest value to us. 

The materials sent were fossils of various kinds, the identification of 
which were necessary for the correct determination of the geological 
age of the beds from which they were taken, but in some instances 
more detailed work was necessary. 

The collections made by Professor Cummins, during the field season 
of 1890, contained a large number of new Nautiloid forms, and they 
were sent to Professor Alpheus Hyatt for study and description. His 
report, with illustrations and, descriptions of the new forms, taken to- 
gether with that accompanying the Second Annual Report, contains a 
far larger number of species than have been gotten together in any 
publication previously. 

A number of specimens of fossil plants which were taken by Pro- 
fessor Cummins from the Permian rocks of North Texas were sent to 
Dr. I. C. White, of Morgantown, W. Va., who identified them, and 
presented the results of his work in a paper before the Geological So- 
ciety of America, at the meeting at Columbus, in December. ‘The 
results are of great interest, proving as they do the distribution of 
Permian plants of the same varieties from Pennsylvania and West Vir- 
ginia to Texas. 

The vertebrate fossils collected by Professor Cummins were sent to 
Professor EH. D. Cope for determination. They were found to be of 
considerable interest, and a paper on them by Professor Cope accom- 
panies this report. 

Dr. W. P. Clarke, of Johns-Hopkins University, who is making a 
special investigation of the Echinodermata, has studied the forms 
taken from the Cretaceous of Texas, identifying about twenty species, 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xliii 


several of which are new. Descriptions of a number of these were 
published in the Johns-Hopkins University circulars. 

The collection of fossils which has been sent to Dr. Roemer embraced 
a number of forms from the Lower Cretaceous. He was at work on 
them during my visit to Breslau in October, but his death in December 
left the work uncompleted. 

The sub-fossils found by Prof. Cummins on the western side of the 
Staked Plains were submitted to Dr. Sterki and his report will be found 
in its place among the accompanying papers. 


CHEMICAL LABORATORY. 


Mr. J. H. Herndon was in charge of the chemical laboratory until 
May 6th, when his services were discontinued and Mr. Magnenat given 
charge. Mr. Magnenat was without assistance until after my return 
to Austin in November, when I appointed Mr. Goodall H. Wooten as 
_assistant. These gentlemen have carried on the entire work of the 
laboratory, a general statement of which will be found in another place 
in this report. 

Immediately upon the organization of the Geological Survey, I issued 
Circular No. 1, dated October, 1888, giving a statement of the law con- 
cerning the analyses of ores and materials of supposed economic value, 
and the terms on which they would be made by the Survey for those 
who desired such analyses for personal or private use. This was never 
intended to be applied to analyses of such a character as were of direct 
interest to the Survey ; but as there seems to be a misunderstanding as 
to its exact meaning, it may be best to explain the practice of the Sur- 
vey in this matter. 

The plain intention of the law organizing the Survey was the benefit 
of the people of Texas—to establish a place where citizens could send 
any material occurring on their property, and secure an intelligent 
estimate of its value at the least possible outlay. This does not mean 
a laboratory for the purpose of making money or competing for patron- 
age with the professional analytical chemists and assayers of the 
State. 

In the rules which I established for the guidance of the laboratory 
work’I took all this in consideration, and divided the work on such 
_material as was sent in by persons not connected with the Survey into 
two general classes. 


xliv REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


The first class comprised all materials, the examination of which 
could only be for the personal benefit of the party sending them in. 
This comprised suspected ores, minerals and certain other material. 

The second class, on the other hand, comprised such materials as 
could not by their nature be of benefit to the sender alone, but which 
must, if of value at all, affect a larger or smallet number of persons. 

For the first class the following general rules were adopted : 

On receipt of any material whatever, such an examination shall be 
made of it as will determine its character and possible value. This 
may, under some circumstances, extend so far as assays for silver and 
gold, or even a complete quantitative analysis. When this is completed, 
the sender is notified of the general character of the material without 
giving details; and if it appears of value, Circular No. 1 is inclosed 
giving the conditions and the law under which analyses are made by 
the Survey, and when complied with and the fee paid, the examination 
is made, and detailed results are furnished the sender under the seal of 
the department. 

All such assays or analyses, for which a fee is taken, are the exclu- 
sive property of the person for whom they are made, and are not used 
by the Survey without permission of the owner. 

For materials of the second class, which in general refers to minerals 
of such widespread character as prevents any one person from reaping 
the exclusive benefit of our examinations, the same rule holds. A care- 
ful preliminary examination is made (which often includes a complete 
quantitative analysis) and a general statement is given the sender as 
before. If he wishes a complete analysis, the law must first be com- 
plied with, and then the payment of the fee makes the analysis private 
property. 

In addition to this, many matters of interest come to light through 
correspondence, and in order to settle some points, specimens are often 
collected under my suggestion and ‘direction, by some obliging and pub- 
lic spirited citizen, and sent me for investigation. I usually give the 
collector a general statement of the results, but in no such case do I 
furnish him the detailed analysis. 

To summarize: 

All specimens received have such an examination made of them as is 
in our judgment necessary to determine their probable value. 

If the examination is paid for by the party sending the specimen in, 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xlv 


the analysis becomes his private property, and is not used by the Survey 
without permission. 


If the examination is not paid for, the analysis is the property of the 
State, and can be used as occasion requires. 

All commercial analyses are referred to such professional analytical 
chemists and assayers as have sent us their addresses, and we endeavor 
to confine our work, as closely as possible, to matters bearing directly 


or indirectly upon the purposes of the Survey, as we have outlined them 
in our publications. 


The following circular regarding water analyses was rendered neces- 


sary. by the press of work and number of such analyses offered from 
different portions of the State: 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS. 


ANALYSES OF WATERS. 
Circular No. 9. 


DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, INSURANCE, STATISTICS AND HISTORY, 
AUSTIN, TEXAS, August 1, 1891. 

The requests for analyses of waters of various kinds have become so frequent 
that it is impossible for the Survey to make them with the present chemical force. 
We have therefore adopted the rules of the Experiment Station of California with 
some modifications. 

A close discrimination will be made between cases of merely individual interest 
and those affecting a larger circle or the public at large. 

Of the latter class of cases, those involving irrigation water and the water supply 
of towns or cities are of such wide importance that the Survey will undertake to 
carry the analyses to the limit required by the objects in view. 

The waters of artesian wells, forming outlets of extended artesian reservoirs, 
which may be still further tapped and used for irrigation or household purposes, 
manifestly fall within the same category. 

Of the above classes of water, therefore, both ‘qualitative’ and ‘‘quantitative’’ 
analyses, sufficiently detailed for all practical purposes, will be made upon request 
as rapidly as they can be reached upon the regular docket. 

The waters of private wells and springs, interesting only the owners, will, as a 
rule, be analyzed ‘qualitatively’ only, so far as to determine their healthfulness 
or adaptation for domestic use; except that in all cases the total quantity of solid 
ingredients and the proportion of earthy and saline (permanently soluble) matters 
will be determined. These determinations will, as a rule, be amply sufficient to 
decide whether or not such waters are suitable for the uses contemplated, and, if 
faulty, to determine the means, if any, for improving their quality. Waters sus- 
pected of sewerage contamination will also be investigated with respect to their 
contents of improper ingredients of animal origin. 


The analysis of supposed medicinal waters will. as a rule, be carried only so 


xlvi REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


far as to determine if they are likely to prove of value, so that the sender may 
decide whether, or not it may be worth while to go farther and incur the expense 
of a detailed quantitative analysis tor commercial purposes. The Survey does 
not undertake the latter class of work under any ordinary circumstances. 

Mopx OF TAKING SAMPLES.—Since the value of any analysis is essentially 
dependent upon the correct sampling of the material, the following directions 
should be carefully observed when waters are sent for examination: 

1. Not less than two wine bottles of the water should be sent in any case. An 
ample supply of material not only greatly facilitates the chemist’s work, but 
also enables him to control at once, by repetition, any unexpected or questiona- 
ble result he may have obtained. , 

2. Of irrigation or any other waters intended for quantitative analysis, at 
least two gallons should be sent in every case. , Such samples should be put up 
- in new, or very carefully cleansed, demijohns, and not in earthenware jugs, and 
least of all in tin or other metalic cans. In both of the latter class of vessels the 
water is almost sure to be so contaminated before arrival as to render the samples 
useless. Demijohns, and bottles as well, should be rinsed with sand or fine 
gravel (not with bird shot) until it is absolutely certain that nothing adheres to 
the inside, and until all odor of previous contents (vinegar, wine, molasses, 
whisky, etc.), has been removed. The corks used for closing should also be new, 
or, if used before, should be boiled with water until fully cleansed of all odors or 
adherent deposits 

38. The water should in all cases be taken directly from the well or spring 
when bottled. If gas escapes with the water, a sample of the gas should be col- 
lected in a bottle first filled with the water and then inverted in the spring basin 
‘so as to allow the gas to bubble into and fill the bottle, which should then be im- 
mediately corked under water, the cork promptly dried and then (after cutting 
down to the level of the bottle neck) carefully covered with sealing-wax, or bees- _ 
wax, if the former be not available. 

4. All samples should be accompanied with a full statement of the location of 
the source of the water, of the depth of well, amount of water or flow of spring or 
stream; as far as possible of the nature of the rock or other material from which 
the water comes, and of all other facts bearing upon its nature and possible ori- 
gin. In case of warm springs the temperature should also be given. 

All such packages should be forwarded by express, charges prepaid. 

E. T. DUMBLE, 
State Geologist. 
LIBRARY. 


The need of library facilities becomes greater every day, and I have 
added as many books as possible during the year just closing by pur- 
chase and exchange. ‘The acquisition by exchange of reports of State 
and Government Surveys, both in this country and in Europe, is aid- 
ing us materially in this direction. 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xlvii 


MUSEUM. 


The arrangement and classification of the museum is now in progress. 
A number of new cases have been added, and while the room designed 
for museum purposes is not large enough to make a complete display 
of the collections of the Survey, typical collections can be shown which 
will not only be of interest to the observer and of great educational 
value, but at the same time impress upon all who see them the fact of 
our varied mineral and agricultural wealth. 

During this year we have added to the great number of ores, rocks, 
minerals and fossils of the geological collections proper, a series of birds 
and birds’ eggs of North Texas, collected by Mr. G. H. Ragsdale, anda 
similar series of those from the coast country, collected by Mr. J. A. 
Singley during the intervals of work in the Galveston deep well, which 
he has been watching. 

Mr. Singley has also made collections of the land, freshwater and 
Gulf shells of —Texas, which are arranged in the cases in connection 
with a loan collection from him of foreign shells. 


CO-OPERATION WITH THE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS. 


In continuation of the plans described in the Second Annual Re- 
port I have hada large amount of material collected for the purpose 
of supplying the Public High Schools of the State with collections of 
typical specimens of rock materials, ores and fossils representing the 
geology of Texas, for the purpose of assisting them in the study of 
geology and mineralogy. We have now on hand sufficient material to 
supply every High School in the State, but the press of work in other 
directions and the small force at my disposal have prevented the prepa- 
ration of the collections as rapidly as I wished. ‘The collections sent 
out embraced only rocks and minerals. The collection of fossils made 
for the purpose will be arranged as soon as possible. 

During the year the following schools were supplied: 

Sulphur Springs High School, Professor B. R. Morrison, Principal. 

Gordonsville High School, Professor B. F. Holcomb, Principal. 

Mexia High School, Professor R. B. Cousins, Principal. 

Blanco High School, Professor W. H. Bruce, Principal. 

Elgin High School, Professor W. H. Stevenson, Principal. 

Eddy High School, Mrs. Bedichek, Principal. 

Van Alstyne High School, Professor H. L. Piner, Principal. 

North Texas Female College, Sherman, Mrs. L. A. Kidd, Princtpal. 


xIvili REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. 


Lockhart High School, Professor J. E. Cook, Principal. 

Gonzales High School, Professor Oscar Chrisman, Principal. 

Shelbyville High School, Professor M. M. Dupre, Principal. 

Navasota High School, Professor S. H. Flake, Principal. 

Austin College, Sherman, Professor S. C. Scott, Principal. 

Sherman Institute, Mrs. M. lL. Nash, Lady Principal. 

Vernon High School, Professor T. S. Cox, Principal. 

Prairie View State Normal, Prairie View, Texas, Professor Anderson, President. 

Paul Quinn College, Waco, Professor N. A. Banks, President. 

Whitesboro High School, Professor. J. M. Stewart, Principal. 

Baylor Female College, Belton, Texas. 

Garden Valley High School, Professor T. J. McBride, Principal. 

Post Oak Island High School, Miss lL. V. Jones, Principal. 

; OFFICE WORK. 

The volume of office work expands greatly with each succeeding 
year. As the work of the Survey becomes better known to the citi- 
zens of our own State and all who are in any way interested in it, the 
number who seek information and assistance from us steadily increases. 
_ While this fact entails more work and longer hours, it is at the same 
time most gratifying, since it is the highest possible assurance of the 
appreciation of our work by the people whom it is intended to benefit. — 

The administration work must necessarily remain in my own hands. 
This in itself requires so much time in planning the work and direct- 
ing the operations of the field parties, in overseeing the correspond- 
ence, editorial work, the laboratory, museum and library, that very 
little is left me for any original work. 

The first portion of the past year was spent in the preparation of the 
Second Annual Report, the publication of which was delayed from 
various causes until July Ist. | 

The edition consisted of three thousand copies, two thousand five 
hundred of which were issued bound in one volume, and five hundred 
as separate articles. 

I then spent several weeks visiting the different field parties until I 
received instructions to take up the lignite investigation, which trip 
occupied my time until November 16th. Since my return I have been 
in the office. 

Mr. A. C. Gray was given charge of the office in June. He super- 
vised the issuing of the Second Annual Report, and with the assistance 
of Mr. W. S. Hunt carried on the general office work during my ab- 
sence in Europe. 


REPORT OF THE STATE GEOLOGIST. xlix 


As an index of the amount of work involved in correspondence 
alone, the number of letters received during the year was more than 
two thousand, and a still larger number were written. 


PUBLICATIONS. 


The publications of the year 1891 by the Survey are as follows: 

I. Second Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas. 8vo. 
DO2 ex, (oo; pl, xxvii, 

Of this Report the following parts were issued as separates: 

Report of the State Geologist. 

Reports on the Iron Ore District of East Texas. 

Report on the Geology of Northwest Texas. 

Report on the Geology and Mineral Resources of the Central Mineral 

Region of Texas. 

Report on the Geology and Mineral Resources of ‘I'rrans-Pecos Texas. 

Carboniferous Cephalopoda. 

II. Preliminary Report on the Utilization of Lignites. 

Of the total number of each publication the law requires that a cer- 
tain number be retained by the Secretary of State, and the remainder 
are turned over to this department for distribution. After reserving a 
small number for future needs and the required number for our exchange 
list, the balance are distributed to all citizens of the State who wish 
them, on payment of postage or express charges. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 


Our field parties have met with ready assistance and help from the 
citizens of the various portions of the State in which the work has been 
carried on. ‘The number of persons who have thus aided us, and to 
whom our thanks are due, is so great that I can only acknowledge our 
obligations to them collectively, and trust that sooner or later they may 
be more fully repaid by the results springing from our labors. 

To the United States Geological Survey we are under renewed obli- 
gations for a more extended co-operation even than that of previous 
years. To the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey our thanks are 
also due for their continued assistance, as they are also to the many 
Paleontologists who have aided us as I have already described. 

To the members of the Survey, one and all, who have given such 
faithful work toward the carrying out of the plans outlined for them, I 


return my most sincere thanks. 


—_ - GBOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS. 


REPORT OF MR. W. H. VON STREERUWITZ. 
INTRODUCTION. 


AUSTIN, TEXAS, January, 1892. 
Mr. E. T. Dumble, State Geologist: 

DEAR SIR—In obedience to your instructions, I took the field in West 
Texas, May 15, 1891, to proceed with the topography of Trans-Pecos 
Texas, and to study the geological and particularly the economical 
features of this part of the State. 

I organized my party with Mr. Ralph Wyschetzki and Konrad Girse- 
wald as assistants, securing the other necessary help in the only way 
possible to engage it in the west—the first best men willing to take 
employment. ‘To engage cook or drivers in the east would not only 
be too expensive on account of traveling expenses, but inexperienced 
eastern men, with few exceptions, are not of much use in the unsettled 
extreme west, where familiarity with camp life, knowledge of the 
country, and aptitude and willingness to undergo hardships of any kind 
are the principal conditions of usefulness. 

Having met Mr. Goode, of the United States Geological Survey, with 
two topographical parties in the field to work up the country between 
the dlst and 52d degrees of latitude, and 105th and 106th degrees of 
longitude, I took advantage of this, stopped the topographical parties 
inside of these boundaries, and commenced to work up the mineral 
district of the Carrizo mountains and southern part of the Sierra Dia- 
bolo, with the Hazel mine and numerous outcrops and indications and 
a few prospects on silver-bearing copper ores. I mapped part of the 
country, and took a number of sections which will materially assist in 
the determination of the very extensive field of the crystalline schists 
and their relation to the plutonic and volcanic eruptive rocks, as well 
as of the superimposed sedimentary strata. 

I could not effect an extension of the sections to the Guadalupe range, 
and thus eventually connect them with the mountains north of the 32d 
degree of latitude, since my wagons and animals, which had been in 
service under very trying circumstances since the beginning of the Sur- 
vey, had become worn out to such an extent that I dared only risk 
short trips, and could not go far from the railroad on account of the 
scarcity of water. 

I therefore reconnoitered the Wiley mountains, and later the northern 
portion of the Van Horn mountains. After placing the animals (three 
horses and two mules) with the wrecks of the water and baggage wagon 
and a well-worn ambulance (the relic left by Mr. Tarr in Toyah) with 
the camp outfit at Phinney’s ranch, disbanded the party and started on 
with Mr. Wyschetzki and Girsewald for Austin, on the fourth of Octo- 
ber. 


liv REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. 


I regard it my pleasant duty to express to these two gentlemen my 
sincere thanks for their unremitting zeal in topographical and other 
work, and for their ever cheerful endurance of hardships under the 
most trying circumstances. 

Respectfully, 
W. H. von STREERUWITZ. 


REPORT OF MR. THEO. B. COMSTOCK. 


AusTIN, TExaAs, December 31, 1891. 
Hon. E. T. Dumble, State Geologist, Austin, Texas: 


Srr—I have the honor to report that the field season of 1891, ex- 
tending from May 25th to September Ist, was given by myself and 
party to the examination of the region south and southwest of San 
Angelo as far as the Rio Grande at Del Rio and Eagle Pass, and north- 
ward and northwestward from Eagle Pass to a connection with my 
previous work in the Central Mineral Region. The district covered 
this year was very large, the lack of water and of food for stock being 
also a serious hindrance. The problems encountered were mostly of a. 
different type from those of the complicated region to the east of this 
tract, but they are of such a nature as to render careful work a neces- 
sity. However, as the topographic field parties of the United States 
Geological Survey were at the time engaged in mapping the area, our 
work was confined to a somewhat narrow belt bordering the lines run 
for geologic sections. 

The field party of 1891, was organized as below: 

Theo. B. Comstock, in charge. 

R. A. Thompson, topographer. 

F. S. Ellsworth, aid. 

Meade Goodloe, rodman. 

J. C. Hubbard, rodman. 

J. E. Whitley, cook. 

H. L. Warren, hostler. 

The only change in this personnel was the withdrawal of H. L. 
Warren at Del Rio, early in July. All the other members remained 
to the end of the season and each performed his duty with credit and 
satisfaction. 

During my absence in June and again in August, Mr. Thompson 
was left in charge of the field party. In the field, as topographer and 
as leader of the corps, as well as in the office work of plotting, he 
exhibited excellent traits and is deserving of especial mention for his 


REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. lv 


zeal, efficiency and the accuracy with which his observations and com- 
putations have been made. 

Mr. Ellsworth proved himself invaluable in varied services as con- 
fidential assistant, and I take pleasure in bearing testimony to his 
energy and faithfulness in the performance of many difficult tasks. 
After my departure he was entrusted with important work, the per- 
formance of which has clearly proven his unusual skill as a collector 
and his ability to manage well in the field. In the office he did excel- 
lent work in arranging and labeling collections and in testing rocks, 
ores, etc., under my direction. 

The other members of the party bore unflinchingly hardships of no 
small moment, and those who continued to the end proved in every way 
faithful to their trusts, contributing in large degree to the successful 
accomplishment of the survey in hand. 

Your own constant aid and encouragement, as in other seasons, en- 
abled us to overcome numerous obstacles and made possible much that 
could not have otherwise been undertaken. 

Very respectfully, 
THEO. B. COMSTOCK, 
Geologist for Central Texas. 


REPORT OF MR. W. F. CUMMINS. 
AUSTIN, TEXAS, November ‘Ragu Rote 


Prof. E. IT. Dumble, State Geologist: 


DEAR Str--The work done by myself and party during the last seasons’ 
field work was to trace the Carboniferous formation to its farthest out- 
crop in Central Texas, and to determine the northern extension of the 
Cretaceous strata along the eastern escarpment of the Staked Plains, as 
well as to trace and determine the extent of the Dockum and Blanco 
Canyon beds and their relation to the underlying strata. 

A very important question for the northwestern part of the State was 
to determine whether or not artesian water could be obtained on the 
Staked Plains. It was already known that the upper strata of the 
Plains had a general dip from the northwest to the southeast, and it 
was thought that there might be an underlying strata, whose upturned 
edge at the base of the mountain range west of the Plains, would fur- 
nish a water-bearing stratum that could be penetrated by deep boring 
farther to the eastward in the country east of the Pecos river. In order 
to determine this matter, we traveled entirely around the Staked Plains 
in Texas and New Mexico, and as nearly as could be done during our 
hasty march, determined the geological age of the strata between the 


lvi REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. : 


foot of the mountains on the west and the western escarpment of the 
Plains. The results of the investigation and determinations are given 
in a detailed report. 

The economic possibilities of the country traveled over have been 
given particular attention, and as much data as possible has been col- 
lected in relation to the fertility of the soil, annual rainfall and the 
temperature, and especial attention has been given to the subject of 
irrigation along the Pecos river and elsewhere in my district 

The personnel of the party during the entire field work was as fol- 
lows: . 

W. F. Cummins, geologist in charge. 

N. F. Drake, topographer and assistant geologist. 

Duncan H. Cummins, assistant geologist. 

R. M. Lynch, rodman. 

C. A. Bullion, cook. 

W. L. Black, hostler. 

We left Austin on the 12th day of May and traveled along the old 
Austin and San Saba road to the latter place. From thence passing 
Brady to a point on the San Saba river about sixteen miles east of the 
town of Menardville. At this place we found the most southern out-- 
crop of.the Carboniferous formation in the central area of Texas, it 
being overlain to the southward and westward by the Cretaceous beds. 
At this place we began and ran a line of levels, and made a continuous 
section of the strata westward, passing Menardville and San Angelo, 
to Big Springs, a distance of about one hundred miles. 

- From Big Springs we went westward about forty miles, tien north- 
westward to the Sulphur Springs, and from thence southward to Ma- 
rienfeld, and eastward back to Big Springs. 

Again leaving Big Springs, we went northward, tracing the east- 
ern escarpment of the Staked Plains through the counties of Borden, 
Garza, Crosby, Dickens, Motley, Briscoe, Hall and Donley, to the town 
of Clarendon, on the line of the Fort Worth and Denver Railroad. 

From there we turned westward, and having explored the Palo Duro 
canyon to the falls, we turned northward to Amarillo, and passing that 
town continued northward to the valley of the Canadian river, where we 
reached the old government road traveled by Professor Jules Marcou in 
1855, he being the first geologist who ever passed through this part of 
the country. Turning westward along that old line of travel, we passed 
through Potter and Oldham counties, crossed the State line and contin- 
ued along that old route as far as Tucumeari, in New Mexico, a dis- 
tance of about seventy-five miles west of the west line of the State of 
Texas. While in the vicinity of Tucumcari we collected a great num- 
ber of fossils from the beds in that vicinity, the age of which has been a 
matter of dispute ever since Professor Marcou said they were Jurassic, 


REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. lvii 


in 1855. We will no doubt be able to throw additional light on the 
subject, based upon the material collected by.us during our visit. 

Finding it impossible to see the underlying strata by traveling along 
the western line of the State southward, where we would have been on 
the high plains and sandhills all the way, we turned directly southward 
from Tucumeari along the old Fort Sumner road, and after traveling 
about seventy-five miles reached the Pecos river a’ few miles above the 
old fort. 

We continued down the Pecos river a distance of about eighty miles 
to Roswell, and about eighty-five miles further to Eddy, and fifteen 
miles to the mouth of Black river. 

From thence we traveled westward up Black river to its source in 
the Guadalupe snountains. Then we turned eastward to the head of 
Delaware creek, and thence to Pecos City, in Reeves county. 

From there we continued down the Pecos river to the falls at Horse- 
head crossing, and passing through the counties of Crane, Upton, Irion 
and ‘Tom Green to San Angelo, and by the most practicable route to 
Austin, where the party arrived on the first of November. 

This brief summary of the route traveled is not intended to specify all 
the traveling done by the party, for in many places we made side trips 
of from twenty to fifty miles. To the faithfulness of the men in their 
various positions am I indebted for the success of the expedition, and 
which rendered it possible to make such a trip with so little delay, and 
collect the large amount of material that we have done with the facili- 
ties at our disposal. 

The amount of transportation at our disposal was not sufficient to 
enable us to travel with that ease and expedition we would have liked. 
During a great deal of the time our teams had to subsist entirely upon 
grass, and part of the time that was very poor both in quantity and 
quality. ‘The consequence is, with heavy loads and scarcity of prov- 
_ ender, our animals arrived in Austin in a very much jaded and broken 
down condition. 

We have this year done a great deal of work that was merely recon- 
noissance, and have traveled over large areas of country that had never 
been visited by even an exploring party of geologists. and many ques- 
tions relating to the geological age of districts have been determined 
which heretofore were entirely unknown. 

With esteem and respect, 
W. F. CumMINS, 
Geologist for Northern Texas. 


]vill REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. 


REPORT OF MR. W. KENNEDY. 


AUSTIN, TEXAS, January 1, 1892. 
Mr. E. T. Dumble, State Geologist: 

DEAR SIR—The work assigned to me for the season of 1891, as de- 
tailed in your letter of April 25th, 1891, is as follows: ‘“‘The making 
of a detailed section across the post-Cretaceous deposits, from Terrell, 
in Kaufman county, via Mineola, Tyler, Lufkin, Corrigan and Colmes- 
neil, to the Gulf.’’ 

In accordance with these instructions I left Austin on the 14th day 
of May for Terrell, and on arrival there began work as soon as the 
necessary outfit could be gathered. ) 

On leaving Terrell the party consisted of myself, Mr. J. B. Walker, 
Assistant Geologist, and W. S. Teague, as driver and cook; and on 
our arrival at Mineola Mr. Walker returned to Austin, preparatory to 
making a line of sections from Cameron southward, and Teague was 
discharged at his own request. N 

While in Mineola I visited and examined the Alba Coal Mining 
Company’s property, and afterwards proceeded to Marshall to dispose 
of an outfit left there at the close of last season’s work. 

The driver’s place was filled by W. M. Bankston, and I then pro- 
ceeded to Tyler. While there I was joined by Mr. Frank Fitch, as a 
volunteer. We then went south to Ashcraft, where Mr. Fitch left and 
returned home, and I proceeded alone to Rusk. At Rusk, finding it 
necessary to have another man, I engaged S. A. Adams as a general 
assistant, and the party moved southward, without any serious difficul- 
ties, to the coast. 

On approaching the completion of the section, I received your letter 
of August 7th, containing instructions to resume county work in Hous- 
ton, Leon and Robertson counties, as soon as the line of sections was 
completed.. Accordingly, as soon as we reached Beaumont and found 
it impossible to take the outfit any further south, it was turned across 
country to Crockett, and I went on alone to Sabine Pass. 

The outfit arrived in Crockett on the 2d of October, and the work of 
surveying that county was commenced and carried on until about the 
end of November, and as the season was then too far advanced for out 
of door work, the party was disbanded and the outfit stored prepara- 
tory to resuming work in Leon county during the coming season. 

While in Houston county the success of the work was greatly facili- 
tated and benefited by the kindly assistance and advice of Senator 
Page and County Surveyor Broxon, the latter gentleman having ac- 
companied me for a week at a time, thereby enabling me to locate 
places with much more accuracy than could otherwise have been done. 


REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. lix 


In conclusion, allow me to thank you for your own advice and assist- 
ance during the course of the work, and the other members of my 
party for their attention to the work in hand and general willingness to 
carry out every duty assigned to them. 

Yours respectfully, 
WM. KENNEDY, 
Assistant Geologist. 


REPORT OF MR. J. A. TAFF. 


AUSTIN, TEXAS, December 31, 1891. 
Mr. E. T. Dumble, State Geologist: 

DEAR S1IR—I have the honor to submit herewith an administrative 
report upon the work given in my charge during the year. 

It was necessary that further investigations be made upon the geol- 
ogy of the Trinity, Glen Rose, and Paluxy beds, which compose the 
Bosque division, in order to better determine their stratigraphic and tox- 
onomic relations to each other. Accordingly I took the field April 15, 
1891, and made careful sections across these rocks along the valleys of 
the Bosque river in Erath, Hamilton and Bosque counties, Brazos river 
in Parker county, South Fork of Trinity river in Parker county, 
and the West Fork of Trinity river in Wise county. ‘The work was 
finished May 8th, 1891, and the results are incorporated in my account 
of the geology of the Bosque Division. In this connection, credit is 
due Mr. N. F. Drake and Mr. C. C. McCulloch who worked with the 
writer upon these rocks in the season 1889. 

According to your direction, I with Mr. S. Leverett, as geological 
assistant, and Mr. J. W. Black as aid, began the study of artesian water 
conditions of southwest Texas, more especially that portion south of 
the Southern Pacific Railway. Investigation was taken up along the 
line of the Mexican National from Corpus Christi to Laredo, beginning 
May 27th, 1891, thence to Cotulla along the International and Great 
Northern Railway, and thence up the Nueces and Leona river valleys to 
Montell, Uvalde county. Vast deposits of post-Tertiary drift, com- 
posed of silt, gravel, boulders, and tufaceous lime so obscure the rock 
which govern flowing wells in a great portion of this region, that satis- 
factory estimates could not be made for sources of artesian water and 
depths for flowing wells. Much data was obtained, but, knowing that 
further investigation is to be carried on in this field in the coming 
season, it awaits a fuller account than can now be given. 

The line of parting between the Upper and Lower Cretaceous was 
traced from the Nueces river valley to Austin, also a study was made 


lx REPORTS OF GEOLOGISTS. 


of the Balcones fault, and its line located almost continuously from the 
Nueces to the Colorado river valleys. Much valuable data was gleaned 
from the bassaltic outbreaks which occur associated with the Balcones 
fault in the Nueces, Leona, Frio, Hondo and Medina river valleys. The 
information obtained throws light upon the age, character and extent 
of these eruptions of the Balcones fault. ‘The knowledge obtained 
upon this work is in readiness to join a complete study of the dynamic 
and stratigraphic geology of the region. 

After completing this work, I began the study of the Cretaceous sys- 
tem north of the Colorado river ina typical area across Lampasas, 
Burnet and Williamson counties. The results of this work are given 
in the pages of the report upon this area. 

Field work ended November 27th, 1891. 

The values accruing from the systematic study and survey, which is 
now in progress, of the artesian water area alone of this region will be 
more than the cost of the Geological Survey thrice told. 

ACKNOWLEDGMEN'S.—-Mr. S. Leverett, by his valuable assistance 
in the field and in the office, has rendered possible an important por- 
tion of the report. 

Mr. Black, by faithful adherence to his duties, rendered valuable 
service in the field work. ? 

I wish to add that your encouragement and instructions given me 
while in the field and in the office, as well as the liberty accorded me 
in the prosecution of my work as an assistant, has been of very great 
value, and has made possible whatever of value I have accomplished. 

With highest esteem, I am, yours very truly, 

| J. A. TAFs, 
Assistant Geologist. 


> 


CHEMICAL DEPARTMENT. 


REPORT OF MR. L. E. MAGNENAT. 


AUSTIN, TEXAS, February 8, Bree 
Hon. E. T. Dumble, State Geologist : 


DEAR SIR—I have the honor to transmit herewith a brief fancrt of 
the work done in the Chemical Laboratory of the Geological Survey 
during the period embraced between December 15, 1890, and January 
1, 1892. During that time five hundred and fifty-five analyses have 
been made by Messrs. J. H. Herndon, G. H. Wooten and myself. 

Below is a table showing the amount and character of the work per- 
formed, not including a large number of qualitative analyses and deter- 
minations of minerals of which no official record has been ak 


Assays for gold and silver . 

Assays for copper. . 

Assays for lead . 

Assays for zinc . 

Assays for platinum , 

Assays for bismuth 

Assays for cobalt 

Assays for uranium . 

Assays for tin . ‘ 
Iron ores, unclassified, antelcrd 
Iron ores, uuclassified, partial . 
Hematites, complete 


Iron ores, coucretionary, Boninieie 5 


Iron ores, concretionary, partial . 
Iron ores. conglomerates, complete 
Iron ores, conglomerates, partial 
Iron ores, maynetites, complete . 
Iron ores, ochreous, compiete . 
Ochres, complete . 

Maganese ores, complete 
Granites, complete 

Porphyries, complete . 
Porphyries, partial 

Clays, complete 

Clays, partial . 

Soils, complete . 

Soils, partial 

Greensauds, complete . 
Greensands, partial . 

. Lignites 

Coals : . 
Mineral waters peaiaiets 


Miscellaneous analyses, complete . 


Miscellaneous analyses, partial 


Total * 


Very respectfully, 
L. E. MAGNENAT, 


me be Re 
RBPporeH BY oO 


ht be 
somes Le) 


“Ik © Ww C 


— bo a ne 
DOTA ON AOD WOH 


bo bo 
co Oo 


Chemist in Charge. 


DEPARTMERT. OF AGRICULTURE, INSURANCE, STATISTICS AND HISTORY, 


PAPERS ACCOMPANYING THE ANNUAL REPORT 


OF THE 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS, 


FOR 


eral 


SUPORT, 1891. 


GEOLOGICAL 


PLATE ll. 


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THIRD ANNUAL REPORT, *TR01e PLATE Ld 


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STW YYS YQ \ 


MAP OF HOUSTON 


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TH Miocene Tertiary 
NS 
WW BKocene Tertiary 
wtweee= > County Roa s 


Seale: 1 inch = 10 miles. 


‘OUNTY—By W. KENNEDY. 


W. KENNEDY. 


A 


* § oh " 


HOUSTON COUNTY. 


_ BY W. KENNEDY. 


PIN Ped) US COLO WY. 


In the First Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas the 
only reference made to Houston county isa short notice of Cook’s 
mountain (a high hill about two and a halfymiles west of Crockett), 
and an outcropping of shell-bearing,sand about; nine miles northeast of 
Crockett, on the old San Antonio road.* In the Second Annual Re- 
port a more extended reference to the economic geology of this county 
is made in a preliminary report by Mr. EH. T. Dumble, State Geologist, f 
which is taken for the most part from the notes of Dr. Penrose and the 
report of Dr. R. H. Loughridge on Cotton Production of the Ppt aas 
States, Tenth Census, Vol. 5. 

The present report is a description of the different features of the 
geology of the county from the standpoint of a much more detailed 
examination than has hitherto been made, during which it was ascer- 
tained that, in addition to the conglomerate iron ores already described, 
there are in the county also laminated and carbonate ores, and that the 
soils can be more properly presented under a different classification 
than that employed previously. 

In order to give the details as completely as desired, it has been found 
necessary to repeat and enlarge some of the work previously done. 


GHOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 


Houston county lies immediately south of Anderson, of which in- 
deed, for geological purposes, it might be considered a part. The same 
beds, so extensively developed in the central and southern portions of 
Anderson county, extend into and half way across Houston before they 
are overlaid by the deposits of the newer Tertiary. ‘The eastern bound- 
ary of the county is formed by the Neches river, while the Trinity 
bounds it on the west. ‘Trinity and Walker counties form the southern 
border. ‘The total area of Houston county comprises eleven hundred 
and seventy-six square miles. 

The surface is generally rolling, and slopes gently towards the south 
and east. In some places it is broken and hilly to a small extent. 
The divide between the drainage areas of the Trinity and Neches rivers 
forms a slightly elevated ridge running in an approximately north and 
south direction through the center of the county. 


*First Annual Report Geological Survey of Texas, 1889, p. 34. 
Second Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas, 1890, p. 318. 


6 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


The entire surface may be said to be approximately divided into two 
plains, through which the waters of the larger creeks have cut deep 
channels, sometimes fringed with broad bottom lands. The northern 
plain extends across the county in a roughly northeastern and south- 
western direction, and has a general elevation of from four hundred 
and fifty to five hundred and thirty feet, and is approximately co-exten- 
sive with the area underlaid by the older Tertiary deposits. The 
heaviest deposits of Quaternary age also occur in this region. 

Throughout the northern plain the streams have a rapid flow, narrow 
channels with steep banks along the greater portion of their courses, 
and, except in the immediate vicinity of the rivers, have a very limited 
extent of bottom lands on either side. 

The southern plain occupies the whole of the county from Hurricane 
bayou southward, and may approximately be considered the area of 
the newer Tertiary. This plain has an average elevation of about 
three hundred to three hundred and twenty feet, though some few 
points rise considerably above this. The streams flowing through this 
southern plain are sluggish in their flow, and wander tortuously through 
broad bottom lands, and are almost without exception subject to exten- 
sive and deep overflows. Between these two plains there is no apparent 
break. ‘They graduate into each other through a series of flat topped 
hills, some of which are covered with ferruginous gravel and sand, and 
others, such as Cook’s mountain, by glauconitic sandstones. 

The following table gives approximately the elevations of some of 
the highest points within the county: 


County. line of sAmdérson county a ps 2a os) en 530 feet. 
Grapéland, +s! <7. egicn een Be cel te dee aa ot ee ee 480 feet. 
Dale yes oo. Ostet re ee OR ee ee ee es 450 feet. 
ASSES oie aise, Dephve ea eNO) at Pee noe le PL Pe ane en th 400 feet. 
Murchison’s prairie. ... . MME SR ADM AL Ecc uC ets UE gy OE 470 feet. 
Weches oo and Ge aa eg vee ee 500 feet. 
Stark 6 jo by sas VS wp Sein, SBOE gin ner ne 385 feet. 
Cook's moutitaim (30 65) S95) Ber sauce inary Sie > tee 460 feet. 
Crockett, court’ house 204 Pk ee) oa tpn 370 feet. 
FASO. co ee Se On IR vie ae SER 390 feet. 
Weldon (Nevill’s prairie). G55) 4. Ais see er ee 294 feet. 
Hyde's Dluik (0 0G 2a a ae ee ee 220 feet. 
Lovelady: oii a hey huis ee ee ORY eda! toe 300 feet. 
Pennington (Tyler prairie)... 5, 3) es et es te Ss fen S0Dateet 
Oalthor pus i = id aon Ce thar See ATR SL > SOIT, pee hy ley tate 300 feet. 
Greed os EN eer sails ba eet Ne dail. a Oa 290 feet. 
Porter'Springs (Mustang prairie) 2° =a eee er ees 320 feet. 
County Hne of ‘Trinity county (7. <9 .22), oe ee Pea Res: 244 feet. 


The most characteristic feature of the topography of the southern 
portion of the county is the chain of small prairies extending across, 
the southern division, comprising East prairie (an eastern extension of 


GENERAL SECTION, HOUSTON COUNTY. 


you 


Hurricane Ba 
Section. 


oe a ee PE Te ES 


Whittaker Bluff 
Section 


an 
i He 


i a 


i i 


ik i ae 

i e 

il ae 
| i ti i 


oe Boe 


An 
| i 


3 

iH kt 
Fi 
< 
BY 


Section. 
Fig. 1. 


San Pedro Creek 


Section along 


Cooks Mountain 
Section. 


I. & G. N’ Ry. 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 7 


Tyler); Tyler prairie, on the southeastern border; Nevill’s and Mus- 
tang prairies, near the western limit. These prairies have a total area 
of approximately fifty square miles, and strongly resemble each other 
in soil and general structure. Other small prairies intervene between 
these, but are generally of very limited extent. 

The chief streams are Cypress creek, San Pedro, Hickory and Camp 
creeks, and Cochino bayou, flowing eastward into the Neches river. 
Piney creek flows south through Trinity county, and finally empties 
into the Neches river. In the southern portion White Rock, with its 
tributaries, Box creek and Tantabogue creek, form the outlet for the 
drainage of an extensive area. Negro, Lost and Caney creeks, and 
Hurricane bayou, and the two Elkhart creeks, flow west into the T'rin- 
ity river. | 

Throughout the central hilly region several of the higher points are 
locally known as mountains, the most. pronounced of these being Cook’s 
mountain and West mountain. Cook’s mountain is a prominent fea- 
ture of the landscape, rising about one hundred feet above Crockett, and 
having an elevation of about four hundred and sixty feet above sea 
level. ‘This mountain rises with a gentle slope from the east and ends 
abruptly on the west and northwest. Its top is perfectly flat and cov- 
ered with fragments of ferruginous material and fossiliferous altered 
greensand. The northwestern corner ends in a narrow peak about 
thirty feet wide, rising over one hundred and eighty feet above the 
level of the Hurricane bayou bottoms. From this point an extendea 
view of several miles can be had of the lower level lands lying to the 
east, north and west. West mountain is the higher portion of the 
ridge separating the Hurricane bayou drainage from the Little E)khart, 
and rises to an elevation of about four hundred feet. It is a sandy 
belt, covered with a conglomerate iron ore and ferruginous sandstone. 

In the northeastern portion some of the high sandy hills have eleva- 
tions of from five hundred and thirty to five hundred and fifty feet 
above sea level, Houston mound, the most prominent of them, having 
a still higher elevation. 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 


The geological section of the county shows the Quaternary deposits 
to be spread ovet a greater part of the northern division to a greater or 
less depth, with a few isolated patches scattered throughout the southern 
‘portion. ‘The general dip of the beds is in accordance with the Tertiary 
and later deposits of Eastern Texas—that is, from northwest to south- 
east approximately. Some local variations occur, but these are not 
generally to any great degree, and where such changes appear they are 
altogether due to some local cause—most of them to the erosion of 
underlying deposits or beds of sand. ‘These sands are acted upon by 
_ the underground flow of water, which, finding its outlet in the numer- 


§ HOUSTON COUNTY. 


ous flowing springs found everywhere, carry off enough of the sand to 
allow the upper and more compact beds to assume positions at various 
angles from the general uniform dip. The great divisions, therefore, 
lie from northwest to southeast, beginning with the oldest. The gen- 
eral dip of the lower or Kocene beds may be placed at about sixteen feet 
per mile, and that of the upper, or Miocene (Fayette) beds, at from ten 
to twelve feet. These dips are as approximately correct as the time and 
means of measurement at the command of the Survey can make them. 
The Basal beds of the section are altogether of the upper division of the 
Eocene deposits,, and occupy the county from the Anderson county line 
southerly to near Crockett. The southern division belongs to the Mio- 
cene. 


The general section shows the following approximate thickness of the 
several deposits: ) 


Recent.—River alluvium, found in the flood plains of the rivers and 

creeks and some of the second bottom lands 0.2.3) 7ae ne 14 to 20 feet. 
Quaternary.—Yellow, brown and gray sands, red sandstones, gravels 

and conglomerate iron ores, in the northern portion; siliceous 

pebbles, fossil woods, aud prairie lands, in the southern districts . . 50 to 60 feet. 
Miocene.—Gray sands and sandy ciays, gray sandstones and thinly 

laminated blue and brown shaly clays, containing crystals of sel- 

enite and gypsum, and the blue sandy clays of the pine prairie 

region of the southeast, and lionite: 7. ss, a0" pe ee 250 feet. 
Eocene.— Altered glauconitic sandstones, laminated iron ore, brown 

fossiliferous and indurated yellow fossiliferous sands, green marly 

clay and greensands, black or dark clay with limy concretions, 

with gray plastic clays and fossiliferous greensand marls .... 400 feet. 


RECENT. 


A considerable extent of Recent deposits occurs along the borders 
of the Neches and Trinity rivers, and also throughout the wide bottom 
lands forming the flood plains of the different creeks flowing through 
the southern portion of the county. ‘The structure of these deposits 
are to a great extent laminated. Deposits of clays and sands in 
laminze, having an irregular thickness varying from one-eighth to one- 
half inch, and dipping at various angles and in several directions, form 
the bulk of these beds. The dip and course of these deposits vary 
with the structure or outline of the area covered. ‘Those along the 
various creeks and bayous are usually very much undermined, but 
where the structure can be made out the angles of the dip are gener- 
ally very small and toward the stream channel. On the rivers, and 
particularly along the Trinity, where high bluffs approach the river at 
many places, the Recent deposits lie in great bay-like indentations. 
The structure of these deposits show a basin-like formation, dipping 
from the high outward rim or boundary toward the center, and fre- 
quently dipping down stream at an ever decreasing angle. The mate- 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 9 


rials forming these deposits are similar to those of the deposits forming 
along the creek flood plains. A section of a bluff of Recent material 
shown on the Trinity river, about a mile scuth of Hall’s Bluff, shows: 


1. Thinly laminated black or dark blue sands and clays, dipping at an- 


gles varying from less than one to eighteen degrees, the higher 
Sa BACH Petts Wee DASE. fl eS ws. MM eye ce ars 14 feet. 
Peened Of Aron Ote visiblean tiver DOttOM: "yy yt ieldey s  etiew ow es 1 foot. 


The thickness of these deposits will not probably exceed twenty feet 
at their greatest extension, and the greater portion of them will not 
exceed fourteen feet. As is usual in the structure of such flood plains, 
the highest portions are close to and along the bank of the stream. 
In places this is so strongly marked that, while the bank is perfectly 
dry, shallow sheets of water or marshy land is found at some distance 
away from the stream. The remains found in these beds are usually 
stumps, branches and leaves of the vegetation now growing along the 
banks of the streams. Shells of the fauna living in the neighborhood 
are occasionally found imbedded in the sands. 


QUATERNARY. 


The Quatenary deposits occupy a considerable area. They form an 
almost continuous covering overlying nearly the whole of the northern 
or more elevated portion. In the southern region they do not appear 
to be so widely distributed, although found capping most of the higher 
points, as well as filling with a thin deposit of gravel and silt, some of 
the valleys lying among the Miocene beds, and forming many, if not 
the whole, of the prairies so extensively distributed throughout the 
lower region. ‘These deposits have been estimated to have a thickness 
of between fifty and sixty feet, and naturally fall into two divisions: 

1. Prairie soils, gravels and river alluvium, corresponding to the 
AMPH era ation ne PLUG ATC meine Mb ie wa ee es Ss 4 to 10 feet. 
2. Conglomerate iron ore, ferruginous sandstones, gray, yellow and 


brown sands, siliceous and crystalline pebbles and gravel, and 
occassional lenticular deposits of clay ........ sine Sa 50 feet 


PRAIRIES. 


Scattered over the county there are numerous small prairies, some of 
which do not exceed a limit of one square mile; others—such as East 
prairie, on the southern boundary; Tyler prairie, adjoining East prai- 
rie; Nevill’s prairie, near the centre of the southern portion—occupy 
areas covering from seven to thirty square miles. Mustang prairiejand 
Towsend prairie have each an erea of about two square miles, and 
Murchison’s prairie, on the nothern border, covers an area nearly two 
miles square.* ; 


*Murchison’s prairie belongs to the Eocene period, and is probably of Jackson 
age. 


10 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


HAST AND TYLER PRAIRIES.—For all practical purposes these two 
prairies may be considered as being one. In their general elevation 
and chief characteristics they closely resemble each other, and a narrow 
belt of timber of recent growth forms the only line of division between 
them. ‘They lie along the southern boundary, Tyler prairie extending 
for some miles into Trinity, the adjoining county. ‘The portion north 
of the county line covers an area of nearly seven square miles. Their 
surface presents a level stretch of country, devoid of trees and covered 
with a dark gray sandy or silty soil. Sections obtained along a creek 
flowing through the main portion of Tyler Prairie show this surface 
soil to be underlaid by a thin stratum of siliceous gravel. 

The action of the streams along the northern boundary of these 
prairies gives them the appearance of being slightly elevated above the 
neighboring country. This, however, is not the case, as at a short dis- 
tance north a range of high gray sandy hills, capped with gravel, rise 
to an elevation of from thirty to fifty feet above the level of the prairie. 
The surrounding country is covered with a scattering growth of oaks 
and other timber, which appears to be gradually encroaching upon the 
prairie. 

NEVILL’S PRAIRIE.—This prairie lies near the center of the extreme 
southern portion of the county, and occupies an area of nearly thirty 
square miles. It has a general elevation of about three hundred feet, 
and slopes slightly to the westward.* 

In general appearance it greatly resembles Tyler prairie. The sur- 
face soil is a dark gray silty sand, from two to four feet deep, overlying 
a thin stratum of siliceous pebbles and fossil wood. A characteristic 
feature, not noticed in Tyler, is the presence of extensive areas of light 
gray, almost white, unproductive crawfishy lands, which are particu- 
larly marked in the western portion. 

To the north, this prairie is skirted by a range of high ground, made 
up of gray sands and siliceous gravel with small fragments of fossil 
wood, and covered with timber. This is a continuation of the high 
gravel and sandy ridge extending along the north side of Tyler prairie. 
Some of the higher grounds on the southeastern edge, on the south 
corner of the John Welch headright, are capped by the light gray 
sandstones of Miocene age. 

The timber areas are gradually encroaching upon the level lands, 
and already clumps or groves of young pines dot the western half. 
Between the western edge and the Trinity river there is an extensive 
tract of flat gray sandy land, which probably at one time belonged to 
the treeless prairie, but which is now covered with a heavy growth of 
pine and oak with some walnut and other trees. 


*The levels of the Trinity, Cameron and Western Railway give Weldon an 
elevation of two hundred and ninety-four feet, and Hydes’ bluff two hundred and 
twenty-one feet. 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. ae! 


In structure these two southern prairies show practically the same 
section. Both are covered with a dark gray soil from two to four feet in 
thickness. In both regions the soils rest upon a thin stratum of siliceous 
and crystalline pebbles intermixed with great quantities of fossil wood. 
The following sections show the strata exhibited in both: 


SECTION OF TYLER PRAIRIE. 


PES CIV IG DIARIES SANG Y SOM Meas Yai le Yes Pole hce eS 2 feet. 
2. Thin deposit of pebbles and fossil woods ........ 4 to Sin. 
PEN MLOWISUTOTAV SANG ffi bya) ee a eo ee ey ob ae cee es eel 8p 6 feet. 
UE a EEL LOW CLA YIN We cE ioe hn Ze bali aes cuca Lai ao kp me cede pe 2 to 6 in. 
5. Dark gray laminated clay with fragmentary impressions 

PAC VOOR eRe On: AP ati ane S Wm eu I eh inl h « 40 feet. 
6. Dark gray clay interstratified with sand........ 

LE Sone ph RSE CR RR) SUN Ie SER le nell ube dn a 49 feet 

SECTION OF WELL ON NEVILL’S PRAIRIE. 

UE EES (SEN ay foe ts? tle eh gt hea avin athe tea sos 4 feet. 
2. Thin stratum of pebbles of fossil wood. ........ 4 to 6 in. 
3. Gray sandy clay or clayey sand \ aes aly KA 30) feet. 
Bee Ue, SANG Ai hae Oke ni aest 0s 
Smeaonite, Carthy, mixed with sand-i7 .25 000 2s Aveda 2 feet. 
EERE SAUL VEGAN os mete NIE Vi ie. ge gcd at eb wee’ y s 47 feet. 

UTHER ohh 04 2 NES ASTUTE EAE ES Ngee 83 feet. 


The physical condition of the soils of these prairies show them to 
contain over 77 per cent of silt. 

The surface of these two prairies (Tyler and Nevill’s) lie almost in 
the same plain, both having an elevation of about three hundred feet, 
and the high gravel ridge extending across the northern end of Nevill’s 
prairie has its continuation stretching along the northern side of Tyler 
prairie. 

MUSTANG PRAIRIE.—Mustang prairie forms a flat region of about 
one and one-half square miles in extent, and covering the greater por- 
tion of the J. H. Cummin’s headright. The surface soil is dark gray, 
almost black, and about two teet thick. The pebbles, so marked as 
forming a continuous stratum in the other prairies, are not so decided 
in Mustang, but appear to be intimately mixed with the lower half of 
the soil deposit. The underlying bed is a dark yellowish gray clay, 
containing great quantities of gypsum in a crystalline form. This 
prairie lies at a higher elevation than any of the other prairies to the 
south, and is surrounded by hills of siliceous gravel and gray sand. 

Mustang prairie shows a somewhat similar structure as Tyler and 
Nevill’s prairies. The soil is of the same silty character and rests upon 
a substratum of gravel. It differs somewhat from the other two in that 


12 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


its underlying beds, where exposed, appear to be a dark yellowish gray 
clay containing numerous crystalsof gypsum. A section of this prairie 
gives: 
1. Black soils, containing numerous siliceous pebbles and fossil wood 

near‘the base 4. .Licth? Pee ee ee ees | ne 1 to 2 feet. 
2. Dark yellowish gray clay containing crystals of gypsum... . . 4to8 feet 


This prairie is surrounded by high gray sand hills. 


TOWNSEND PRAIRIE.—Townsend prairie is a small area lying on 
the east side of the T. R. Townsend headright. In extent it does not 
exceed a square mile, and lies in a basin-like form in the midst of 
brown sandy and gravelly hills. ‘The surface soil of this prairie is a 
brown and red colored silty sand, similar to that forming the surround- 
ing higher grounds, lying upon an under stratum of dark gray sand 
with laminze or small masses of dark blue clay containing gypsum 
crystals. 

All the prairies are, for the most part, devoid of timber. A scatter- 
ing growth of oaks, with a few scattered pines, surround them and 
crown the higher lands on all sides. Within recent years, however, 
the timber has shot out long, narrow, tongue-like strips of woodland, 
which now reach to near the center of some portions of them. East 
prairie and Tyler prairie, originally one unbroken stretch of tteeless 
sandy plain, are now separated by a narrow belt of trees. Mustang 
prairie has also been nearly cut in two by a similar strip of woodland, 
and Nevill’s prairie in many places, particularly towards the west, 
presents a dense foliage of young pines. On all sides the timber is 
encroaching upon the prairies, and year after year narrowing the area, 
and in a few years, except where under cultivation, the treeless prai- 
ries will be but a memory of the past. 

The timber is also encroaching on Murchison prairie, in the north- 
ern portion of the county, and long belts of oaks and other trees are 
now interspersed with open spots of what, not many years ago, was a 
treeless country. 

The origin and absolute original extent of these prairies have not 
yet been completely worked out. ‘They lie around the heads of their 
respective drainage systems. No streams flow completely through 
them, although several small ones rise from springs and other sources 
within their areas. It is not improbable that their origin is due pri- 
marily to their having been lakes, or marshes subject to deep and long 
continued inundations, within a comparatively recent period; and that, 
owing to a change in the level of the Trinity river, and consequent 
silting up of the connection between them and the waters of the river, 
they were gradually filled up by the washings from the surrounding 
higher grounds. In this stage the prairies would remain treeless. It 
is also probable, from their structure and the condition of their mate- 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 13 


rials, that the most southerly—Nevill’s and Tyler prairies, with their 
connecting flat wooded areas—may have formed, within comparatively 
recent times, a continuous lake, or the channel of some wide stream, 
probably a section of the present Trinity river, since a depression of 
only about forty feet would again place both among the overflow or 
marshy. lands connected with the Trinity. With the advance of the 
streams from the outside towards the center of the prairies, and the 
cutting out of their channels, the resultant drainage of the area would 
ultimately render the soils suitable for the growth of arborescent foli- 
age; and now, at the present time, as before noted, the trees of the 
surrounding neighborhood are beginning to encroach upon the plains.* 

The southern prairies have, for the present, been placed among the 
Quaternary deposits. If they belong to this period, they “must be 
placed among the youngest members, and it is very probable that they 
ought to be classed with the older division of the Recent. 


DRIFT. 


With the exception of a few miles included in the area embraced by 
Murchison’s prairie, and the small area further east occupied by the 
laminated iron ore, the drift deposits of the Quaternary cover the whole 
of the northern division of the county, and extend as far south as 
Crockett, and towards the western portion a few miles further south, 
attaining their maximum thickness of sixty feet in the neighborhood 
of Grapeland. Wells bored in that vicinity show a section of yellow 
sand over fifty feet in thickness. 

Two series occur in this region—a modified or partially stratified 
series of deposits, anda totally unstratified heterogeneous mass of sands, 
gravels and pebbles. These have not as yet been differentiated, and 
although there can be no doubt as to there being a wide difference be- 
tween the times of their deposition, no distinction has been made in this 
report between the two. Further observations are needed to satisfac- 
torily separate the modified from the unstratified materials. 

The general facies are gray, yellow and brown sands, gravels, siliceous 
and ferruginous pebbles, conglomerate iron ore and ferruginous sand- 
stones, with occasional deposits of clay. 

North of the Big Elkhart, on the old Murchison place, several stream 
cuttings show the sands and clays to have a stratified structure. Near 
-Hancock’s gin, and on the Hall’s bluff road a few miles east of Udston 
postoffice, lines of stratification are also visible in many of the cuttings. 
In the eastern portion of the county numerous cuttings show stratified 
deposits of brown and yellow sand. In many places the gravel and 
sand are intimately mixed, and at others the sands show signs of erosion 

* Winchell, A. J. S., Second series, Vol. XXXVIILI., p. 332 (1864). 


Lesquereux, Second Report of Arkansas, 1860, p. 328. 
Lesquereux, A. J. S., Second series, Vol. XX XIX., May, 1865, p. 317. 


14 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


in the form of pot holes which are filled with gravel. In many localities 
the deposits of yellow sand end abruptly, and the overlying gravel bends 
down over the break, and by thickening assumes the plate of the sand 
for long distances. 

In the region between the two Elkharts, on the western side of the 
county, the drift deposits consist for the greater part of ferruginous 
sandstones broken in small pieces and intermixed with a brown sand. 
South of the Little Elkhart the broken sandstones give place to sand 
and gravel and conglomerate iron ore with great quantities of siliceous 
pebbles. At Hancock’s mill, on Yellow creek, the conglomerate iron 
ore is intimately associated with blocks of ferruginous sandstone, some- 
times measuring 12x10x4 or even 6 feet. 

Along the north side of Hurricane bayou from Udston postoffice, on 
the south side of the Ramon de la Garza tract, eastward as far as Hickory 
creek and north to the south side of San Pedro on the Stow headright, 
the deposits are represented by conglomerate iron ores, gray and brown 
sand and siliceous pebbles, in some places exceeding twenty feet in 
thickness. A well dug on the J. Malon headright shows a gray sand 
and deposit of siliceous gravel to a depth of over twenty-two feet, and 
on the J. M. Manes headright, about a mile north of Hurricane bayou, 
a well thirty feet deep passed through pebbles and gravel and ended in 
a yellowish colored sand. Near the town of Augusta siliceous gravel 
and sand covers a small area south of the school house. Gravel and 
sand also occur on the north side of the Daniel McLean league and 
northward tonear the Neches. Southof the same bayou deposits of the 
brown, gray and yellow sand, with siliceous pebbles, occur as far south 
as the Alabama and Crockett road. . 

Beginning near Brookfield bluff, on the Trinity river, and extending 
eastward as far as the Trinity county line, in a nearly southeast direc- 
tion, there lies a broad gravel covered ridge which rises to a considera- 
ble elevation above the surrounding gray sandy country. It is very 
irregular in width and at one place spreads wide ae to enclose Mus- 
tang prairie in its course. 

Isolated patches of gravelly material are found at various other places. 
These localities all have approximately the same altitude with reference 
to the underlying beds, and would appear to indicate that the Quater- 
nary drift deposits at one time covered the whole country, but have been 
removed by subsequent denudation. 


MIOCENE. 


The deposits classed by Dr. Penrose (First Annual Report, p. 47) as 
Fayette beds, are here assigned to the Miocene. ‘They comprise a 
series of gray sands and sandstones and grey laminated clays. Toward 
the base there is a series of blue and brown laminated gypsum-bearing 
beds, the gypsum usually occurring as selenite, or in crystalline form. 


Alabama Bluff. 


BLUFFS ON TRINITY RIVER, HOUSTON COUNTY. 


Hall Bluff. Wootter’s Bluff. 


Brookfield Bluff. 


Hyde Bluff. 


Fig, 2. 


= 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 1 


In the western portion of the county these clays give place to massive 
dark brown sands and clays, containing quantities of broken plant 
remains. Both these brown sands and clays contain sheet-like forma- 
tions of crystalline gypsum, usually filling the joints or fractures of 
the beds. In the southeastern regions the deposits are made up of 
dark blue and chocolate colored clays and lignitic deposits. The total 
thickness of the beds included as Miocene is placed at two hundred 
and fifty feet. The available lignite beds are all confined to this age. 

The northern boundary of these beds begins in the northeastern 
portion of the county, near the north side of the Antonio Borrazo 
league, and passes westerly as far as the J. Pruit headright, about two 
miles southwest of Augusta postoffice. From that place it turns and 
extends south nearly eight miles, to the J. D. English headright, where 
the line again turns west. Passing along the south side of Hurricane 
bayou, it bends southward around the town of Crockett, and thence 
westward to within a short distance of the Trinity river, near Brook- 
field’s bluff. From this point the line turns south, and crosses the Trinity 
near Alabama postoffice. 

The outline of this border is exceedingly irregular. It is broken up 
into small narrow inlets, or stream channels, and although there ap- 
pears in most places to be an almost uniform continuity between the 
beds of the two periods, there are in others strong evidence of a long 
continued erosion of the older beds before the deposition of the newer. 
This is visible in the neighborhood of Crockett, near Cook’s mountain, 
and several other localities. Contacts between these overlying Mio- 
cene deposits and the underlying Eocene beds have been observed in 
various places along this line of demarcation, but such exposures are 
very few. The greater portion of the region is covered with drift ma- 
terials to such an extent that the underlying beds are nearly every- 
where covered to a considerable depth. 

The following sections obtained at different localities occupied by 
these deposits show the structure of the beds classed as Miocene: 

First. Section at Alabama bluff on the Trinity river. 


faeebiack sandy loamu* >... s. Spe. Oh ay Me ne Oe ene ena 5 feet. 
BEaIInten Clay Wit Sypsimi. . Pet I. 5 feet 
Beso WOTONS Prernsal cd. WasiDle <.. "gee. feta meg yee Slee ee 5 feet. 


The dip of the beds in this section is south twenty degrees east, 
three degrees. . 

Near the north end of the same bluff, and about a quarter of a mile 
north of this same section, the bluff shows a section of: 


SENSES NG LOA TIA SOIl ak oh) hy NN ey on ea ah ye he 4 feet. 
2. Conglomerate of stained siliceous pebbles and iron ore and silicified 
Bvt Rea tster te terCviiee aoe 5) fs Ph be oe eee bey ee tee Praise oes 2 feet. 
a mEMOESIT Chm OTe eNISHIDINerClAy, waite Fit Bunce’ en Sire p Apis) +s cis 4 feet 
RE ALCOUGH CG Rue Se eta eet 70% 6 ante wie aresete vines «este oe dy's 5 feet. 
Sy SSS aay een UR i a IR il Reh ae Oe Ae en 10 inches 
Dem Onslitierous  ClAviy VisIDIELs (7). espa AS Stes awl wi gee) > 5 feet 


16 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


The dip of these beds is in the same direction as those in the section 
at the south end of the bluff, but the angle is slightly steeper. These 
two sections show the contact of the Miocene and Eocene deposits at 
this place to be but slightly unconformable. This unconformability 
is represented by the slight variation in the dip of the beds and the in- 
troduction of a deposit of dark laminated gypsum-bearing clay. 

Going south, along the same river, to Hyde’s bluff, a distance of 
a little over fifteen miles; the section shown in the bluff is as follows: 
1. Dark yellowish brown clayey loam andsand ....... 8 feet. 
2. Conglomerate of. broken fragments of nodular iron ore, 

stained siliceous pebbles, iron stained fossil wood, and 

coarse brown'sand ‘and fine gravels nd 2 feet. 
3. Dark blue sandy clay, with the upper surface stained to a 

depth of one foot by the brown ferruginous matter of the 


conglomerate, containing decomposed iron pyrites ... 10 feet. 
roe; to bh: Ser ene ae Meee Murs TE Ske RCo a fg! le 2 inches to 2 feet. 
5. Light grayish blue sand and gray clay interlaminated. . . 10 feet. 
GF AL ie nite se oy 2 chine aha et mete ee De pis: _  2to 4 feet, 
1. "Dark purple colored(clay (49-2) Ac ga 68) sae ene 13 feet. 
8. Gray sand containing rounded and flat oval shaped concre- 

tions. or bowlders, of a gray indurated sand, to water . . 4 feet. 


Dip south sixty-eight degrees east, three degrees. 
Five miles east of Hyde’s bluff, a well; bored eighty-three feet, 
shows a section of: 


1s )-Dark:soil:(paririe} ot li Ss eae eo ee ee Hag emeettns 4 feet. 

2. Thin stratum of pebbles 5.7 Ri lar hatha” al peace ih fa alee ne ge 4 to 6 inches. 

3. Gray sandy clay, or clayey sand and bluesand ........ 70 feet 

4. Ljignite similar to that at Hyde’s bluff, in No. 4o0f section. . . 2 feet. 

5. Gtayish blue''sand ‘3 CU ie ae ne ee ea a ee 

Near Lovelady the section of a well shows: 

1. ‘Gray sand oar yi: Ose So Ni epee Se Seed oe i ee ‘Sahay TA LOOK 

2. Stiff laminated gray clay with interlaminz of gray sand and contain- . 
ing fragments ofileayes: ¥.4..0.0 24 a eee eee a ne 10 feet. 

5. Yellow'sand andvelay sea 2 wissen cee ea 27 feet. 

4. Blue sand with Henitic streaksios 0). . 5h eos ae ee 2.80 feet: 


No. 4 of this section is reported as being found in all the wells of 
this neighborhood at a depth of between thirty and forty feet. 

On the K. Clapp headright, near Porters’ springs, a stream cutting 
shows a section of : 


1. Gray sand and small blocks of conglomerate ore ..-.....2... 20 feet. 
Zi. Red sand. ca SUIOR ha) ei Da A ee eR ane oe 2 feet 
3") Stratified: greéensahds: “i } rug oe Se ee ata 4 feet. 
4.) Dark pink interstratified sandvand clay eet ee ee 4 feet. 


A mile and a half northwest, on the same creek, near Mr. W. G. 
Brazeal’s house, a section of the bank shows: 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 17 


ieeanc and pravel, Ouaternary drift)... Jee OAR hak wk: 2 feet. 
Eee rownish gray, partially stratified sand. s.g4.6s wiles eee ee 5 feet. 
3. Heavy deposit of gray sand containing broken leaves and sheets of 

oe ened RR EA a: 4) iE! Ee ra see NY el 2 Aa 6 feet. 
4, Dark colored lignitic sand, containing numerous fragments of plants 

ee ey patris die) Ns) earn a : (Oy highs oo Pe = LS 8 feet. 


Near Crockett, along the south HEN of Cook’s mountain, a creek 
shows a section exhibiting the contact between the underlying fossilifer- 
ous deposits of the Eocene and the overlying gypsum-bearing. clays. 
The following is a section from this place: 


Peer ertnoinous gravel, talus from mountain. .7. 2252's. kk 4 feet. 
Demat tyelaliiuated@brown CLAYS (60 66.) g ile ce RR Na ce 4 feet. 
3. Thinly laminated dark blue clay with interlaminz of brown sand 

- aud crystals’of selenite 25°... EA Hang (NN ee eae - 6 feet. 
EEE eTONS(DTOWN Sand 4. 2,0, faa hlt Pella eho abot et NS 10 to 15 feet. 
5. Laminated blue plastic clay, stained brownin places. ..... 4 feet. 


A short distance up the creek, near the Alabama road crossing, the 
banks show a section of: 
SISNET TOA TIED COS Oc My Lor mites. see tele Vee oe ee ty hates ac fa. 32 < 8 feet. 
2. Stratified clays and sands, the clays varying from dark brown to 
black, and thinly laminated, the sand from a gray to a yellow 


Coury atdeimestiata OLtworto Six INCHES {ee hs kA sk 4 feet. 
3. Thin stratum of gray and brown laminated clay andsand ..... 8 inches, 
meee eitatium of soft brown-sandstone fo ek ee ee 2 inches. 
PEEICRCIINO TOMER T. cL MeN Dt Bre ec re AON CLG ae ele we oie’ ria. es TEC. 
6. Black sandy clay,'containing visible plant impressions. ...... 1 foot. 

On the road, the beds underlying this section, comprise: 

SU EVE atICLy) COL E66 yatta et hbo nFan evden  ichie Gp aye eee 2 feet. 
2. Yellow sand with ferruginous and siliceous pebbles)... . . 1 foot 6 inches. 
SEE EES ie dee ae A Soa Sica ic or =) 2 feet, 
4. Gray sand, in places indurated toa soft sandstone. ..... 6 feet 


All these beds dip south sixty degrees east, three degrees. 

Passing toward the east, the same gypsum-bearing clays occur near 
Calthorp postoffice, on the John Box headright. A section of the hill 
near the old Hudson postoffice site, gives: 


mumerray satidcy surface soil --7ih 3) 2 Ss RO 1 to 6 feet. 
Dean sand with siliceous pebbles). 0428. 2 ee 4 feet. 
Peeruimiy. laminated sandy clay. and clays. 2°26... Se eee 10 feet. 
La SY DSCOUS CIA YIN Ai tin Rte theo ge) tow oa tind forte «eve 3 feet. 
Meee roovatiingated) sand and Clay. 4 6 2. \i a pet eee ee ee 15 feet. 


About two miles south of this section, a cutting of Flat creek shows 
a section of : 


BE Oe Geet eNO ree ede a a tel le Baa Met IOOk. 
2. Gray sand, with occasional pockets of siliceous pebbles... ... . 14 feet. 
Semel nuiy taininated, bine sandy clay of). 68 es a ew ete it, rae LEET. 
oo Ie oso Case Sd og eRe RA a A oe aa 4 feet. 


Going down the creek, the lignite thins out and shows the underly- 
ing material to be a purple colored clay. 


18 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


On the J. Bethed headright, about three miles southeast of the last 
section, the same lignite appears in a cutting, showing a section of: 


1, SSurface soil‘of gray sand. . 7°. @oeeaeiee ss - +) } a.) at 1 foot. 

2, = Thinly laminated clay, and sand igggsge so 4 feet. - 

8. Laminated. brown colored clayeeieemery ol. . '...2%> > ae ee 1 foot. 

4. Lignite, visible= 5 (oy. 7. SP eg ene ee cs a Wis! 0 can) 4 feet. 
EOCENE. 


These deposits are covered, throughout their greater extent, by de- 
posits of the Quaternary sands and gravels, and in some places by 
heavy deposits of conglomerate iron ore. 

In areal extent the Eocene deposits occupy the whole of the north- 
ern portion of the county, extending from near Crockett northward to 
the Anderson county line, and from the Neches river on the east to 
the Trinity on the west. Their southern limits conform to the north- 
ern boundary of the Miocene deposits already described. 

The Eocene deposits of this region may be placed as the equivalent 
of the Claiborne deposits of Alabama and Mississippi, although the 
evidence, so far as the details have at present been worked out, seem 
to place the upper division in a position corresponding to the Jackson 
of Louisiana and Mississippi,* and the Smithville beds of Dr. Penrose’s 
Colorado river section. 

The following sections show the general relations of the deposits be- 
longing to the Eocene in this part of the State. As the deposits dip 
in a generally southeast direction, and the beds lie apparently con- 
formably to each other, in the northwest corner of the county the sec- 
tions will show the older deposits. 

Section at Wootter’s bluff, Trinity river: 


1.:< Brown and.-yellowish brownsands*)* e127... 5 oe. ee ee 10 to 15 feet. 
2,> Chin stratum of clay ironstone 5.) parva. eae 1 to 3 inches. 
3. Dark gray micaceous clay, weathering brown on the outside . . 20 feet. 
47 ;.Clay ironstone is (Oe Tbe a Se ee 1 to 2 inches. 
5. Dark blue or bluish black micaceous clayey sand. ...... 2 to 6 feet. 


Small rounded lumps of lignite occur in association with the dark 
blue sands No. 5. 

South of this about six miles, at Hall’s bluff, on the same river, a 
section of the bluff shows: 


1.’ Quaternary gravel ajo. 3. Sr.) Ghee Se 25 to 20 feet. 
2. Fossilferous sandstone containing castsof shells ...... 4 feet. 
3. Red sandstones—no fossils observed... ......2.... 10 feet. 
4,,¥ellowish white/sand \.72. 25°55). 0s eager ie ok tee kh 2 feet. 
5. ; Brown clay with gypsum crystals... 5h a ed 6 inches. 
6. Yellowish .white, sand: uf, 552). a ae ee ke eae 14. feet. 


*Geological Survey of Louisiana, First Report, p. 90; Second, p. 7. 
Hilgard Report of Mississippi, 1860, p. 128. 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. 19 


Memos same das No. Oe cia. a eee ee 6 ge 34 feet. 
8. Irregular stratum of clay ironstone bowlders......... 8 inches, 
9. Dark greensand, weathering brown on outside, containing fish 
Daas A Tee at 7 eR A -ycypen P Jees Ae iat. 6 feet. 
SPIE OWI) SQ 51 (ce eee cise. ie ha: a Tyg Re id ace Mest a. 4 feet. 


Dip south twenty degrees east, three degrees. 
Still further down the river, at Brookfield’s bluff, five miles below 
Hall’s bluff, the section shown is: 


1. Quaternary sand and gravel in ridge about one hundred yards east 


WS SCR RE 2 eg IRIE Tp aa A a a a Hi te A 20 feet. 
ERE SANOGLOUE C5 aft Os Ane ei tess 1s 3. hah eases ee et 10 feet. 
REET CYIIS ETO ss acti BS cory tah Aly eine si x cack Oty Nedh Gti kt Mein oe 1 foot. 
4. Jaminated dark blue sand and light gray clays containing decom- 

SEIBECOTIOATY TALES Sa pac ree coisa h ella, Mebuny eee eh Mel's Sg 8 50 8 feet. 
(SAWS s Uibiase 0 eel aero) Ga ae ae a eR ae ge ae 2 inches. 
PTCIRe NOMS re. hae ia: fe ey ria Maid ed se eee 0 iect, 
ME SeatT OLITOUSLOUG HD, 6. la" a ts cee GM ee ie . . 6 inches. 
8. Same as No. 4, getting darker in lower Sania af bed, and covered 

in places with a yellow effloresence of SIDR ore ramets... 15 feet. 


No. 8 of the section extends below the line of low water level. This 
bed is also broken by numerous small springs issuing from it. These 
springs give off sulphuretted hydrogen gas in considerable quantities, 
and bubbles of the same gas are seen to rise in great quantities from 
the bed of the river. 

The next section on the river occurs at Alabama bluff, about six 
miles in a straight line further south (nine miles by river). This sec- 
tion shows the last deposits of the Eocene materials. 

Passing again to the northern portion of the county, near Harmon’s 
mill on the Stephen Rodgers headright, the section there shown gives: 


SEE SORIV OAC Ditty ees lies eee eal Le “SS eC Aeae ae GOtTeet, 
2. Indurated yellow fossilferous sands coutaining ee of ee Ae ae 10: feet. 
Dee eecrceinariy Sang 1 Weil) s, 72 cies terete seh he ne je 0. feet. 


Four miles eastward from this section on the southeastern corner of 
the Jose Maria Procella headright a section gives: 
ietstay sand. broken /sandstones.and gravel ys). 1.8... . Ree feet 
2. Brown, marly sand, containing ostrea shell chiefly ........ 2 feet. 


3. Greenish blue marly sand, containing numerous shells, chiefly of 


the Cardita planicosta and Cerithium whitfeldi, both of large 
eee EOE POM OED oe) Rca rah Ls tech Sy wi oh) sg o'e pets 10 feet. 


South of this place, where the Rusk and Crockett public road crosses 
the San Pedro creek, the south bank of the creek shows a section of: 


etn wesatcd ear san Pedro.church.) | ff). lk 8 elie », 20 feet, 
meesrown sand aud altered greensands “) 07 6 Se 4 feet. 
8. Brown stratified ferruginous material, with thin laminze of iron ore. . 2 feet. 
4. Yellow indurated fossiliferous greensand marls, packed with shells 


visible 20 feet. 


Pn ee ere? Cr lee ee ml ware fel ove een) Be B16) Fae Boe | (6 Fay he By, 1S OS Le Aen 1 


We ty —s oe, ae or he 
y 


ee ie eS 
tae > ir? 


0) HOUSTON ‘COUNTY. 


No. 4 is the same or the equivalent of the bed found at Harmon’s 
mill, and underlying the iron ore near Robbin’s ferry, shown in the 
next section. 

Near the Robbin’s ferry across the Neches, on the Leonard Williams 
headright, a section gives: ) : 


1. -Gray sand wie. 2) Ot et ene Ge Pe 
9. ‘Laminated iron ore. 3 S23. oe po Nee tO BO) ee 
3. Indurated yellow fomeil eran raHtG same as ou San Pedro 

creek fg ae ee 2 feet. 
s  Yellow'sdnd +... 8550 ee trek wl eee 10 feet. 
5, Pipe clay oc aoe Sle ete ie 23 feet. 
6. Fossiliferous green ee SLUTS 20 Ge ate a nee ne ees 2-0) £0 Cems emeus 
Toe Redecla yin. eee Oe aka: te ae aR ae tS fe LO) ait tee 
8. Blue marls erent feces 7 eee iy) re OG ae 18 feet. 
9. Brown laminated sand, visible J. .\)); 25,4. 5 feet. 


A section on Silver creek, and apparently lying below the last sec- 


tion, gives: 

1. Red sands with siliceous pebbles and gravels. ...... 1 to 2 feet. 
2. Rounded concretions of iron ore, with yellow ochre .. . 6 inches to 1 foot. 
3. Ferruginous sandstones . 4 ee 

4. Laminated blue and brown aaa Api Bt te a RE 40 feet. 


Toward the southern edge of the area underlaid by the Eocene de- 
posits, sections show the general distribution to be as follows: 
Section at K. Jones’ well, Nevel C. Ee meee 


1. :Nellowish: brown: sandy clay G22: 40 Aiea : Mahe a0 (feet 
Bice Out Clave auc. , peers ele Siures > O fests 
3. Thinly laminated Biace ieee ieeraie etal See See pis tre & TOBE. 
4." Bluish green fossihferous'tmarls \; ).ie ose ee i a Teer 


The hill at Hagues’ gin, northeast of the last section, shows a sec- 
tion of: 


1. Brown sand and ferruginous gravel ..... Paty ber ama gee Vee af 
2. Yellow and brown sand with clay and fine eee en aoe aio” 6 WOELOCrs 
3. Blue and yellow mottled clay, with thin stratum of white calcareous 
nodules’ eo. ee yak SN ee ee rr em 
4° /yBrowmn- Sands 315 co Aen 2) Ne eg URED AP rates Reg Ud: atte) giv ORAS 


5. Gray sand overlying in ones Seth 


The Cook’s mountain shows section: 


1. Brown ferruginous sandstones with occasional casts of fossils. . . . 10 feet. 
2. Altered glauconitic sand, yellow colored and crossbedded. . . . . . 40 feet. 
3. Covered up with debris from topof hill ..... Sf ads so ar ODMEEEE 
4. Stratum of brown ferruginous sandstone By itatnitic ostrea cite! 
forms). Sn ww EP ee Pte det sony A Oe 
D2. ALCOR e OLE Yara er SOM pi OE oN ee » ) sits 3h pd Oe 
6. Brown sand wiih focal ee Eee 2 kot Leen oe. Desa 
7, Blue laminated ‘clayi: 430.55. 469 yess a ar. ee ee 


On the north side of the Lae this fifty-five feet of covered material 
is represented by brown sand and sandstones, underlaid by brown and 
black sandy clay, with occasional seams of ferruginous matter. 


GENERAL GEOLOGY. a1 


MURCHISON’S PRAIRIE.—The only prairie region in the northern 
portion of the county is that known as Murchison’s prairie. This 
comprises an area of about two miles square, extending over a greater 
portion of the Jose Maria Procella league, and a portion of the north- 
eastern corner of the Stephen Rodgers headright. Unlike the prairie 
regions of the southern portion of the county, Murchison’s prairie 
does not owe its existence to lacustrine formation. This prairie, which 
lies somewhat lower than the surrounding country, appears to owe its 
prairie origin and general absence of trees to the impervious nature of 
the subsoils. Wherever drainage has taken place, owing to the cut- 
ting of the stream channels and the consequent carrying away of the 
water, trees are spriiging up and encroaching upon the treeless area. 
Like the prairies in the southern portion of the county, Murchison’s 
prairie will, in a few years, be as well wooded as the surrounding 
country. : 


bo 
bo 


HOUSTON COUNTY. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 
SOILS. 


The soils of the county are all fit for cultivation. The virgin soil is 
in most places of a fairly good grade, but those under cultivation are 
rapidly deteriorating, and some of them have already reached a stage 
which renders them unprofitable for the cultivation of cotton, the 
staple product of the county, and are nearly in the same condition for 
corn production, especially the upland gray sandy and light prairie 
soils. 

This deterioration can readily be noticed. At first small spots appear 
in various portions of the field, upon which the cotton plant, never very 
vigorous, begins to get brown and shriveled, and finally dies. These 
spots may not at first include more space than is covered by two or three 
plants, but as the season passes they grow larger, until the area included 
by them forms a considerable portion of the ground under cultivation. 
With each succeeding cotton crop this area increases. While as yet in 


no place observed has corn failed to grow on these spots, this crop also - 


shows a falling off from preceding years. 

Physically there appears to be no difference between these unproduc- 
tive areas and the surrounding portions of the land, but chemically the 
constitution of the two differ in manyrespects. The following analyses 
show the chemical as well as the physical conditions of the two. Both 
are taken from the same field and not very far apart. Nos. 1329 and 


1330 show the cotton producing soil, and Nos. 1527 and 1328 the char- 
acter of one of the areas in which the cotton dies: 


. —— 
| No. 1329. | No. 1330. | No. 1827. | No, 1328. 


Insoluble in hydrochloric acid ....... ' 96.10 | 96.92 | 96.00! 97.00 
Soluble silica < i.9)" i. five eles eae pe |, 0.22! 00.08 | 0.20} 0.12 
TOU else fay ate AY, 5a 9a ee ee P-2Os0b; er be Or) 1.236) 0.90 
Adnminas 7" 9 ogc! Yo 5 el Aaa |. 0:35. 4>-Trace 0.00 Trace 
Lime eG Eire erin: ge a Pe OL62515 OL 4I< T=) 0.29 0.30 
Magnesia) {iti "abi cleo eat ee ee | Trace | Trace | Trace | Trace 
00a eh Nar ete, «ee eee eee ee | 0.32°} 0.20} 0.81 | 0.90 
Potash oo 4fiebh G Ae Ge ee ee 0210 0.0945. O14 4 0.06 
Salphune deida ous ate, ee ee | -.0.03.|- 0.06 | 0-06)) 0:05 
Phosphoric acid 3). cain Oe eee ee 0.03} 0.07} 0.026 0.02 
Water 2555. Oe ae ae ee 0.14; 008; 008; 0.04 
Organic matter exe yw py pee ee, eee F264 5 O88") 1 208 4, Dee 


The physical condition of these soils is shown by mechanical analyses 
to be: 


No. 1329. No. 1330. || No. 1327. No. 1328. 


'| Fixed. | Volatile. || Fixed. | Volatile. ||Fixed. | Volatile. || Fixed. | Volatile. 


Sutin. ede 65.15 |* 0.87 | 47.50 0.44 ||71.84 |. 0.16 || 36.20 0.33 
Fine sand. . . ||26.73 | — 0.19 {21.50 | 0.11 {/15.00{ 0.10 || 38.98 | 0.36 
Coarse sand. . || 9.82 0.08 ||17.804_ 0.10 || 6.69 | . 0.18 || 17.53 | 0.07 
Gravel vue 2b 216 0.09 || 4.76 | 0.04 |) 2.23 | 0.10 || 4.62 | 0.04 
Coarse gravel .| 1.21 0.09 || 8.12 | 0.05 | 0.75 0.09 || 0.72 | 0.02 

0.00 |; 2.86} 0.00 || 1.13 | 0.00 


Stoneseir a. ssl, 40S 0.00 | 5.08 | 


ny 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. aD 


These soils are practically in the same physical condition. ‘Their 
differences of production and non-production appear to be solely due to 
the variations in their chemical composition, and both are on the verge 
of utter exhaustion, while No. 1327 has already reached that stage as 
far as cotton is concerned. 

The same condition exists in many of the prairie soils. A specimen 
obtained from Tyler prairie gives, on analysis, a result equally positive. 


Analysis of soil and subsoil from Tyler prairie producing six hundred 
pounds of seed cotton and twenty bushels of corn per acre: 


No. 1342. 


No. 1341. 
Soil. Subsoil. 

meee at -hydroch|loriemend 2.05). 5°28. a ea 96.50 96.75 
ESIGN WN eM Ne SRN fo he aoa, 0:12 | 0.18 
IOS te re Ct ee fk cn Ss SA ea ogy of hese L077} 0.75 © 
ER Sere ee et be a, 6. iteariys oe ee cee 113 Trace. 
ig SRS Ea ae gehen ane On oo a 0.23 0.33 
ERS POR 2 eh eo elie co Nes ols gs bw cate Trace. Trace. 
ES et CS fe. SN. ees lwtige an! eee 0.41 | 0.33 
rs: Seaman tenet Teer ee Ee A ie 0.06 | 0.11 
NITNPMRCS Chae vee ie CE Jo ae nied, Be yOR ies ep a ik 0.08 0.14 
ERG Cabell fe Be a AE Cty ara 0.03 Trace. 
EI ee tna chee i ed athe le 0 20 0.36 
Fe SIEGES tay ES Been Ii FS a at 1.44 1.34 

Er ee Pe te eye Ke RS SS ae ele Os LOV.27 100.29 

Physical Condition. 
Soil. Subsoil. 
Fixed Volatile. Fixed. | Volatile. 

ole Vag ERE rare 86.68 1.32 || 77.82 | 1.18 
MMMETATINE tah ets Bee co a ig Se anh 7.88 | 0.08 eetiee S: 0.07 
Meme satitl oh) peste aS. Fra i Saad 0.03 4.16 0.09 
OME ay ta hae SRO thts PAN 1.68 0.05 3.15% 0.09 
TEEGUCL Sc) yes et, ray ry 1.98 0.07 5.81 0.21 
Serer ee ee LE ei a 3.62 0.00 1.99 | 0 00 

Se ec es te Fo a a BAT / 100 100 


~ 


None of the other prairie soils Have as yet been analyzed, but will, 


without doubt, disclose a similar condition of affairs in all of them 
except Murchison’s prairie, lying in the northeastern portion of the 
county. ‘This exception is altogether due to a difference in the origin 
and structure of the prairie. 

An analysis of the black soils of the county show them to have 
chemical and physical conditions greatly superior to those of either the 
gray upland or prairie soil. 


24 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


Analyses of black soils from near Brookfield’s bluff: 


No. 1331. | No. 1332. 

Soil. Subsoil. 
Insoluble in ‘hydrochloric acids jw le. > 89.58 88.00 
Soltible silica ....9 5. 4 (5). hi Cay ee. SSA hams 0.12 0.12 
Tron oe ee ee a oes 3.68 4.30 
Alumina 30.08 (eee ee eR Rr tice Ny ‘Trace. 2.60 

Lame 8 eS. us TR ae AS es slag 0.48 0.47 - 
Magnesia ress). ja ei viny naa) eh og ee Dugas oS ss er de Trace. ‘Trace: 
Soda oar oS Oi a 2 cod hg 0.60 0.45 
Potash ..%. ss 4002 Pals SS ee 8 Sey 0.16 0.09 
Sulphuric Actd Soc... ¥27 sae RR il oe ty be 0 06 0.07 
Phosphoric ‘Acid! 333 (37.2 4 ae ee fe rs 0.09 0.06 
Water eR a a ery ee Cec Tbe, 0.68 0.84 
Organic Matter”? 20° sc tke eee rk Tle 2 4,44 3.38 
TOtal ed SAS ES» i) CONT a ee erm eS 99.89 100.48 
Physical Conditions. 
Soil. eh Subsoils. 

Fixed. | Volatile. | Fixed. { Volatile. 
Sits 0 (SANE Sey eee 26.53 7.49 31.82 2.06 
Fine sand. sini Ake eee 12.21 0.27 8.05 0.20 
Coarse sand san i eae ee eee 34.18 0.70 Saste 0.80 
Gravelse i ee i Pe Seat ene ie 15.10 0.38 19.24 0.51 
Coarseipravele crs. k sci vacate Were 0.86 0.10 1.67 0.09 
StONes (Ri carp A es wate Po cet ee eee eee oe ah 2.18 0.00 1.84 0.00 

‘Lotal 4.0: Sek ack oatieea te tas eee 100 100 


These black soils may be classed as medium soils, although the an- 
alyses given above show this particular soil to be somewhat deficient 
in alumina to enable it to stand any prolonged season of dry weather. 
This character of soil, however, occurs mostly in the bottom, and 
second bottom lands, and can scarcely suffer at any time for lack .of 
moisture. Some of the specimens collected will, when analyzed, show 
much more favorable results. 

These soils are all transported material. Very little of any other 
character exists in Houston county. ‘The small areas of the sedentary 
soils found in the county, arising from the disintegration of the under- 
lying beds, all occur in the northern division. These soils result from 
a degradation and weathering of the extensive deposits of greensand 
marls found in that region, and may fairly be inferred to contain most 
of the ingredients necessary for vegetable life. No analyses have yet 
been made of this class, but a very fair idea may be obtained from the 
analyses of the greensand marls given further on in this report. 

In estimating the quality of the soils, the classification made by Mr. 
P. DeGasparin and quoted by Dr. Peters, of the Geological Survey of 
Kentucky, based upon the percentage of phosphoric acid and potash 
they contain, has been used. ‘This classification is: 


bo 
oS 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 


0.20 per cent of phosphoric acid in the soil makesit. ....... Very rich. 
SUE emese Fh OTN TED WELnemerE cy. 6. > ~) a> id Pi ee ra ae oe Rich. 
PeeeIEICCONT Makes (iweraiay.!. . .\. \. od aR Poor. 
ceemeery Dd and 0. Uoanaesic oo 2 Ee ow 4 Medium, 


Mr. ob ates gives 0.04 per cent for potash as a normal average 
quantity.* 

Adopting this mode of classification, a perereniees to the analyses 
already given will show that, with the exception of the black soil of 
the second bottom lands, they may all be classed as poor. The black 
soil comes under the class of medium soils, both as regards its con- 
tained phosphoric acid and potash. , 

The terms soil and subsoil are, as usually applied, very indefinite 
terms, and have different meanings according to locality. The term 
‘“‘soil’’ is generally applied as meaning that portion of the surface im- 
mediately under the influence of cultivation, and consequently varies 
with the depth to which the land is usually ploughed. All the un- 
derlying earth is classed as subsoil. The soil under this nomenclature 
may be anything from three to eight or nine inches, and in many places 
we frequently hear of a portion of the country being referred to as 
having no soil at all. 

In collecting these soils and subsoils, a uniform rule was adopted of 
taking for the soil a mixture of the first foot and for the subsoil the 
next foot. In few places in which there was-no apparent change be- 
tween the first and second foot, the subsoil specimen includes a mixture 
of the second and third foot, and occasionally in the sandy region, con- 
tains more or less of the fourth foot beneath the surface. In every 
case the soil specimen is mixed with earth extending a few inches 
beneath that in actual cultivation. This rule was adopted from the 
fact that no definite or regular depth of cultivation is applied to any 
portion of the county, and any other method would, under such terms 
as soil and subsoil be meaningless. 

The classification of soils adopted in this report is: 

1. The light gray or yellowish sandy soil, belonging chiefly to the 
drift formations, found extensively throughout the whole of the upland 
regions. 

2. ‘The dark ashy gray and black sandy lacustrine formations of 
the prairies. 

3. The dark, almost black, and brownish black transported soils of 
the second bottom lands. 

4, The black and brownish black sandy clay detrital soils of the 
areas subject to overflow. 

5. The brown or red sedimentary or residual soils formed in the 
northeastern portion. 

6. The southeastern pine prairies. 


*Geological Survey of Kentucky, analyses of soils, etc., 1883, p. 12. 


VOW HOUSTON COUNTY. 


LIGHT GRAY OR YELLOWISH SANDY SOIL. 


This class of soils is really the most extensively distributed. It 
covers the whole of the upland region and the greater portion of the 
central and southern lower lands, and is usually underlaid by a subsoil 
of a very similar color, and in places where dug out to a depth of four 
feet showed no change in the general texture. In the northern division 
of the county the soils are occasionally underlaid by a red, highly fer- 
ruginous, sandy clay or altered greensand, and in a belt across the 
center of the county the gray sands lie upon the dark blue laminated 
gypseous clays shown in the general section; but throughout. the 
southern portion of the county, where any clayey material occurs, it is 
usually of a light gray color, very similar to the soils themselves. 

These soils are for the most part poor, and the average production of 
cotton does not exceed six or seven hundred pounds of seed cotton per 
acre. ‘They are also rapidly deteriorating under the present system of 
cultivation. 


THE DARK ASHY GRAY AND BLACK SANDY SOIL OF THE PRAIRIES. 


The soil and subsoil of the southern prairies are, with the exception 
of Mustang prairie, dark ashy gray in color, and remarkable for the 
proportion of silty material shown in their structure. The soil of Tyler 
prairie contains no less than eighty-eight per cent of this material, and a 
specimen obtained from Nevill’s prairie shows the soil of that region 
to contain —- per cent of silt. The soil of Mustang prairie is a dark 
ashy gray, shading into black, containing quantities of pebbles in some 
portions. ‘The subsoil is mixed with numerous crystals of gypsum. 

These prairie soils, particularly those of Tyler and Nevill’s prairie, 
are, like the light gray sands, rapidly reaching the limit of deteriora- 
tion. At present the average crop of cotton on Tyler prairie does not 
exceed seven hundred pounds of seed cotton, and the corn crop usually 
produces from twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre. The crops on 
Nevill’s prairie do not exceed this average, and much of the prairie has 
deteriorated into crawfishy land, producing only a scanty growth of 
bitterweed. 

The total of these areas is approximately forty square miles. 


THE DARK, ALMOST BLACK, AND BROWNISH BLACK SOILS OF THE 
SECOND BOTTOM LANDS. 


These soils are made up chiefly of the detritus from the higher lands, 
and lie mostly within the areas occupying the region between the light 
gray sandy soils of the uplands and the dark clayey soils of the bottom 
lands subject to periodical or annual overflow. They are decidedly the 
best grade of soils in the county, and contain a much larger percentage 
of the essential ingredients of plant food and approach more nearly 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. yA) 


the character of a loam than any of the others.* ‘There are extensive 
areas of this class, constituting much of the most valuable and pro- 
ductive farming lands. 


BLACK AND BROWNISH BLACK SANDY CLAY DETRITAL SOILS OF 
THE AREAS SUBJECT TO OVERFLOW. 


This class of soils is altogether found in the wide bottom lands along 
the Trinity river and its tributary creeks, occupying extensive areas in 
the southwestern and southern portions of the county. They are gen- 
erally made up of an intimate mixture of sand and clay from the 
washings of the higher lands, and would, under systematic and thor- 
ough drainage, form the most valuable of all soils in Houston county. 
At present no attempt is made to reclaim any portion of them, and they 
are subject to periodical overflows of from one foot to thirty-five and 
forty feet, according to their proximity to the river. 


THE BROWN OR RED SOILS. 


These are the only sedentary soils found in the county, and are 
mairly found in the northeastern division. Their origin is due to the 
weathering and disintegration of the extensive beds of greensand marls 
which they overlie. In the neighborhood of Murchison’s prairie, and 
westward to near Harmon’s mill on the San Pedro, this class of soils is 
extensively developed, and usually averages from one and one half to 
two feet in depth, and is underlaid by a brown sand containing numer- 
ous fragments of broken and comminuted shells. No apparent dis- 
tinction lies between the soil and the underlying sand, except that the 
former is a little darker in color, due to the greater proportion of the 
' contained organic matter, and the shells where found are in a very 
comminuted condition, but are absent throughout the greater portion of 
the area. No analyses of these soils have been made, but their gen- 
eral texture and adaptability to successful cultivation can be learned 
by reference to the analyses of the greensand marls from which they 
have been derived. 


SOUTHEASTERN PINE PRAIRIE SOIL. 


The southeastern portion of the county is mainly occupied by pine 
prairies, low flat areas of sand and sandy clay, readily working into a 
clayey soil, in some places devoid of timber of any sort, and occa- 
sionally of a sufficiently clayey nature to retain the surface water to 
such an extent as to form small stagnant pools. 

These soils are, as indicated by their name, usually covered with a 


*A loamy soil deposits from 30 to 60 per cent of sand by mechanical washing. 
Johnson’s Agricultural Chemistry, p. 232. 


28 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


sparse growth of short leaf pine. A very small proportion is in cul- 
tivation, and very few sections showing their structure can be obtained. 


CRAWFISHY SOILS. 


Throughout the county there are numerous spots of ‘‘crawfishy”’ 
soils. Large areas exist within the limits of Nevill’s prairie. ‘They 
also occur near the site of Old Randolph, west of Lovelady, and at 
other places. This is due to the conditions of formation in these places. 
In all cases these soils are of a very porous nature, light gray or almost 
white in color, and have a loose pebbly subsoil which rests upon a 
dense clay foundation. The light sandy soil admits of a process of 
lixiviation by water, which carries down through the subsoil to the 
surface of the clay the iron, and very probably the vegetable and other 
valuable ingredients contained in the soil. Here the iron concentrates 
and gradually forms bog ore or black gravel, which in undrained lands 
are deleterious to plant life.* These soils are generally devoid of veg- 
etation. The scattering plants found growing upon them appear 
dwarfed and to be suffering from a lack of nourishment. At present 
the only plant growth, where any exists, is the common hog, or bitter- 
weed. A corrective remedy might possibly, and doubtless will be, 
found in a thorough system of drainage in conjunction with a liberal 
supply of muck. | 


GREENSAND MARL. 


There are extensive deposits of greensand marls in the central and 
northern portions of the county. They occur as an indurated shell-bear- 
ing sand of a yellow color; or a brown, marly and shelly sand; ora 
grass-green sandy clay, the clay usually in the form of rounded 
nodules of a grayish green color, thickly specked with small black - 
grains; or as an indurated bluish greensand, containing great quantt- 
ties of white shells. In addition to these, large quantities of indurated 
altered glauconitic sandstones, containing casts of shells, occur at 
different places. 

The area underlaid most extensively with these sands is that north 
of Hurricane bayou and east of the International and Great Northern 
Railroad. Throughout this region the greensands are exposed in 
numerous stream channels and washouts, as well as found at various 
depths in nearly every well dug. 

Exposures, in workable quantities, occur in various places along 
Hurricane bayou and Flat creek, a few miles east of Crockett. They 
-are also found in Mr. K. Jones’ well, in the same region, at a depth of 
twelve feet, where they appear to have a thickness of sixteen feet ‘or 
more. At Harmon’s mill, five miles northeast of Grapeland, the fos- 
siliferous bluish greensands underlie the indurated yellow fossiliferous 


* Hilgard’s Agricultural and Geological Report of Mississippi, p. 215. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 29 


sand, and are about eight feet from the surface. From Harmon’s mill 
east and northeastward they spread over the country as far as Mr. J. 
M. Langham’s well, on the east side of the J. M. Procella headright. 
The bluish greensands are found in Mr. Langham’s well at a depth of 
twenty feet, and in a brook two hundred yards south they appear 
within two feet of the surface. ‘They are also found in great abundance 
along Saddler creek, on the Anderson county line. From this point 
southward, through Murchison’s prairie, to the crossing on San Pedro 
creek on the Rusk road, these same greensands occur, and on the south 
bank of the creek, close to the crossing, the yellow indurated fossili- 
ferous sand forms a bank twenty feet thick. They are also found on 
the Lewis headright, a mile and a half west of Augusta, and on the 
Daniel McLean headright, about three miles east of the same place. 
Large quantities occur in contact with laminated iron ore on the Leon- 
ard Williams headright, near Robbin’s ferry on the Neches river. In 
several of the bluffs along the Trinity river, beds of fossiliferous clays 
and greensands are also found. In Hall’s bluff these beds are six feet 
thick. ‘They occur in Brookfield bluff, and at Alabama crossing the 
beds aggregate a thickness of fourteen feet. In the stream known as 
Collin branch; about two miles west of Crockett, a fossiliferous brown 
sand, ten feet thick, extends southward along the creek from near the 
Hall’s bluff road to the Alabama road, a distance of nearly half a mile. 
The following analyses show the composition of the greensands: 


{ | 5 | : Teens) | 
ws | : | : a a iS) | 5 « ar cag la 
| eae | sel Et ea eae £,| 8 | #93 
: = (So) >) ba oO eee, - An | 4 Ay Ea. 
No; § | & eo | 8 ep wn a th. | ee a, bX SPS g 
Ps 5 oO vO a Stee Meee Poy) SON a Ae PSO. ° 
Wee led RR a q | eee Odea A Oe eis ie H 
fae } ar 5 r oT cll Lani Nina y nae al Oa abs t 
| | | } | 2 
1286} 29.40) 7.46: 5. 60) 14.54| 20.00} 2.88} + 14.80} 3.41\Trace|Trace|. . . | 2.20; 100.29 
1302! 45.70) 18.09) 4.00/ 4.71] 8.70! 2.00 > 11.00] 4.57/ 1.20) 0.12 |Trace|. .. . . | 100.09 
eer Oia 84991 06, 76) A Nitln LAS Wis we a eer O.1Sh 0 8471/-0.072|°. 1-611 14.17} 100.15 
1445) 47.00} 9.78! 21.42). . .| 7.58] 2.30; undeter. | 1.27; 4.65) 0.56 | 0. 22) undeter. | : 
1446) 15.30) 6. 53. SOEAT ee 6.34 5.70| undeter.| 0.60) 5,15] 0.25 0:34) andeter, |! :).5 3.5 
1447} 43.10) 13.66) 27.54|.. . 1.07; 4.76] undeter.; 0.56) 3.66) 0.17 | 0.25) undeter.|... . 
1448} 30.00) 14.11) 25.09). . .| 16.80) 3.46) undeter.| 0.80} 4.41) 0.44 | . 0.69) undeter.|... . 
1494) 74.90) 9.30) 5.50) ...| 0,90) 0.58) undeter.| 1.2%) 6.67) 0.08 0.60} undeter.)... . 
t ' | | | | 
LOCALITIES. 


No. 1286 - K. Jones’ well, N. C. Hodges’ headright. 
No. 1302—Alabama bluff, Trinity river. 

No. 1449 —Greensand clay, Hurricane bayou. 

No. 1445—\L. Williams’ headright. 

No. 1446—Murchison’s prairie. 

No. 1447—D McLean’s headright. 

No. 1448—Robbins’ well, Leonard Williams’ headright. 
No. 1494—Hurricane bayou. 


The practical utility of these greensands for fertilizing purposes has 
been partially demonstrated by several of the farmers living in the re- 
gion in which they abound. These experiments show that lands 


30 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


treated even with so small a quantity as fifty bushels per acre have 
yielded an increase in crop sufficiently great to warrant their use. 


IRON ORKS. 


The iron ores of Houston county belong chiefly to the conglomerate 
variety. Laminated ores occupy a small area in the northeastern portion, 
and a number of stratified deposits of clay ironstone of varying thick- 
ness, occur in connection with the greensand deposits in the central and 
western portions of the county. 


CONGLOMERATE ORES. 


The characteristics of these ores have been described by Dr. Penrose 
in the First Annual Report of the Survey.* In very few particulars, 
and these trifling ones, do the ores of Houston county vary from those 
of the other parts of Eastern Texas.t ‘They occur in the shape of de- 
tached fields or areas, extending from near the mouth of Hurricane 
bayou to the northeast corner of the county, near the confluence of the 
San Pedro creek with the Neches river. The most westerly area lies 
along the height of the land forming the divide between the waters of 
the Elkhart creek on the north and Hurricane bayou on the south, and 
embraces the greater portion of the A. W. Beckham headright, a large 
portion of the Ramon de la Garza tract, and the whole of the J. W. 
Hughes, J. Henly, J. Porter, S. B. Langham and J. R. Murchison head- 
rights. They are also found on portions of the A. FE. Gossett, J. Walker, 
W.P. Albert, J. A. Barton and J. 1. Walsh headrights. The whole 
field approximately covers sixteen square miles. The ore is more ex- 
tensively developed along the eastern side. On the A. EF. Gossett land 
it lies in the form of large bowlders from four to six feet in diameter and 
from one to two and one-half feet thick. Going westward it becomes 
more fragmentary and sandy, until near the western limit, on the de la 
Garza headright, it might also be classified as a ferruginous sandstone. 

The central deposit occurs in scattering quantities from Harmon 
creek, on the southeast corner of the J. M. Box headright, northward 
as far as the S. W.Stow headright, a distance of nearly six miles. 
This ore is associated with red ferruginous sandstones, and lies upon a 
ridge of yellowish gray sand, about two miles wide, underlaid by a red 
ferruginous sandy clay. The whole area is approxmiately ten square 
miles. It is otf very poor quality, and can scarcely be considered more 
than a siliceous gravel cemented by a ferruginous matrix. 

Southeast of this area, and on the Joseph C. Teague and R. R. Rus- 
sell headright, there is another deposit mixed with yellow and brown 
sandstone. This deposit is of no practical value, except that it might, 
by crushing, form a good road-metal. 


*First Annual Report Geological Survey of Texas, p. 81. 
tReport on the Iron Ores of East Texas, p. 31. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. ol 


In the section lying along the Neches river south of the San Pedro 
creek, and south of the Anderson county line, there lies a deposit of 
very coarse conglomerate associated with soft red ferruginous sand- 
stones. From the texture it can not be considered as of any practical 
value for ore purposes. 


ANALYSES OF CONGLOMERATE IRON ORES. 


1s} 
Y oe 
5 - Bs ° eh hs 
No. 5 q he v BS ag gi ~ = 
= Se nae aa hi wee 8 3 cre 
D < oa si D Ay H = 
1062* 36.75 5.24 | 51.46 0.82 0.40 | 0.49 4.90 100.06 36.02 
1063* 32.60 4.56 | 55.04 0.60., 0.19 0.20 6.70 99.89 38.53 
1064* 37.10 4.09 | 50.91 1.15 0.47 0.17 6.10 99.99 | 35.64 
1065* 33.92 4.19 | 54.21 1.00 0.59 0.28 6.10 100.29 37.94 
1454 29.20 7.75 | 48.65 5.60 0.225) 0:58 3.60 100.20 34.05 
1293+ Pea a ee Dae LS Pita d OF naa -% iy al AON Eel eWd aries 76] BSi FS 
1294} Bel) eee we Dore a eee aoe ee taal ess og peas mS FY | 
1295 Bs aT VA ANT GY SEE Tis oe SUMS TRE tes RS an TRC Bao oa CO 


* Analyses by J. H. Herndon. +fAnalyses by i) EK. Magnenat. 
LOCALITIES. 
- No. 1062—Twelve miles northeast of Crockett. 

No. 1063—Near Davis’ creck. 

No. 1064—Twelve miles northeast of Crockett. 

No. 1065—Eight miles northwest of Crockett. 

No. 1293—West side of Hammond creek, J. M. Box survey. 

No. 1294—Creek on W. E. Long’s farm. south of Old Moorfield, John Beaty 
headright. 

No. 1454-A. E. Gossett headright. 

These ores are of no immediate practical value as iron producing 
materials. Silica is largely in excess, the proportion of metallic iron is 
below the limit of profitably working ores where charcoal forms the 
only fuel, and without concentration they would not sustain the cost 
of transportation to any distance.* They are more or less associated 
with a brown or dark red ferruginous sandstone, which may be used 
for some classes of building purposes. 


LAMINATED IRON ORES. 


In the northeastern portion of the county there is a deposit of ore of 
the thinly laminated or buff crumbly variety,f covering an area of 
nearly eight square miles, in the form of a roughly oval shaped field. 
The southern boundary begins near the southeast corner of the Daniel 
McLean league and extends as far east as the J. B. Bodan headright. 
From this place it runs northwestward along the Neches river to within 


* For remarks on utilization of this class of iron ores, see Second Annual Re- 
port, p. 89. 
+ See Report on the Iron Ores of East Texas, 1891, p. 28. 


32 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


a mile and a half of Robbin’s ferry, where it changes to a western 
course through the Leonard Williams and Jacob Prewitt headrights ; 
thence southwesterly, past the northwest corner of the J. Sheridan 
headright, to McLean creek, and thence southwesterly, through the 
eastern half of the McLean league, to the southeast corner. The ore 
is very thinly and irregularly deposited, having a thickness of from 
only one to six inches. The greater proportion of the ore covering 
does not exceed four inches. | 

This field shows the typical bench formation observed everywhere 
throughout East Texas where this character of material covers the 
hills. An analysis shows: 


ROEIMCUAG I se a eet 9 Tj eee SER al ies ie Ae ee a 10.20 per cent. 
BOR IASTIIVISE CA in! open es a ey tai ene Pg UES Ae AI Soe oh MY 8 art 9.15 per cent. 
PeMiCeO Re 1S ee Tee ley UR ee 74.05 per cent. 
Mera AG IrOn ky Pa ee Aha les Sie Pp eS 51.84 per cent. 
Lett ty, 2 rae MTom rt) Rea Re, 9) 0.15 per cent. 
UE EEN i a oem MD elm hidbyar SUT SC eT 0.10 per cent. 
SMOSDUOTLC ACIC! 20. op. Mody eee ec 1.35 per cent. 
afi Ge) eh gin ay eet, MR RAPE EOC fee AEGAN ME 0.11 per cent. 
TVOSS OUP IGNITION fps...) Geen Hoe Sew meter ne ae 4.00 per cent. 


One hundred parts of iron contain 1.13 per cent of phosphorus. 


CLAY IRONSTONE. 


This class of ore is found intermixed and otherwise associated with 
the greensand marls, and has been observed occupying a position in 
almost every section in which the marls appear. The deposits, so far 
as observed, rarely exceed more than six or eight inches in thickness, 
and generally form lines of partings between the different greensand 
beds. 

Associated with these ores are extensively distributed beds of fossil- 
bearing siliceous ore, which in some localities reach a thickness of two 
or three feet, but are usually not more than six inches to one foot. 
Where a greater thickness than six inches occurs, the deposit is made 
up of a series of strata each from two to four inches thick. 

The localities in which these ores are found in greatest abundance 
are in the neighborhood of Crockett, where the fossiliferous ore occurs 
near the Mary Allen Seminary, in a bed one foot thick; five and one 
half miles-west of Crockett, on the Hall’s bluff road, the same ore 
shows a thickness of one foot; but they are best developed in the Hur- 
ricane bayou region, where they attain a thickness of from eight inches 
to three feet. A section of the bank of Flat branch, on the Nevil C. 
Hodge headright, shows : 


1."Surface materiale 1) RO ae Ce By ae rm ara 80) Re a 1 foot. 


2..¢% Dark greenish gray Clay cass Dias ¥aed ain a She ot phe | sina Lune 4 feet. 
§. “Thin strata of: iron ‘oreiagorera ting kn teas Me te an. = oe ee 3 feet. 


4;-, Laininated fossiliferons rusty Dine Clays: tates se eee ee ae od ee 2 feet. 


Bad ed) 


3: 
vo 


oN) 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 


Fossiliferous iron of the same class also occurs at Alabama bluff, 
where it appears in three distinct strata, separated by deposits of 
greensand. ‘The beds in the bluff have a thickness of from one to two 
feet. This class of ores also occurs at various other places throughout 
the northern and central portions of the county, but are generally very 
poorly developed. 

Clay ironstone occurs more or less connected with these fossiliferous 
ores. Outcrops are seen on the Rusk and Crockett road, three miles 
northeast of Crockett, and in both Brookfield and Hall’s bluffs on the 
Trinity river. Small sheets of the same material also occur in the 
bluffs at Wootters’ bluff, on the J. G. Thompson headright, and near 
Augusta postoffice, where it appears in a bowlder form. The locations 
and structural conditions of these deposits are shown in the sections 
under the heading of General Geology. 

The analyses of these ores show them to have the following compo- 
sition: 


Ferrous 
Oxide. 

Lime. 

Carbonic | 
Acid 

Magnesia. 

Sulphur. | 

Phosphor- 
ous. 

Loss 

| ‘Total. 

“| Metallic 
Iron. 


Silica. 
| Alumina. 


1290} 12.30| 5.34! 33.70! 19.97, 3.80! 23.20 Trace! 0.10! Trace! 3.50 99.91, 37.56 


ZOU AA 20) ices 41,40 Sere an EAC REE ENS ea ns eis. Celi neas 1s ist a) tek Sali Shale | “BO.I8 
QT ia i ae ree DOS een ee eee ered meres newbs orl meme oe ee heh | OO 
1296) 11.50} 7.23 34.48 14.12 8.40 12.60| Trace] Trace} Trace;  11.70/100.03) 35.11 
1451} 13.10} 5.78 GOHS2z Re eauntes 5,85 7.40) 1.18 0.11) 1.22) S001 99.86) 2 42 
1493) 25.30) 6.65 Os00 ee i DCO, shee 0.10 0.11} 3.15). . . . |100.41| 44.76 
1457| 15.30) 7.34 4°26) Ge vet AY TAT Ret. 1.08) 0.11) 0.70, 10.60}100,13) 44.98 


LOCALITIES. 


No. 1290—Three and a half miles northeast of Crockett. 
No. 1291-— Five and a half miles west of Crockett. 

No. 1292—Millan branch, west of Crockett. 

No. 1296—Near College, Crockett. 

No. 1451—K. Jones’ farm, Flat branch. 

No. 14983—Trinity river. Alabama bluff. 

No. 1457—East of Silver creek, near Augusta. 


LIGNITES. 


Lignite deposits occur at various points. Several of them are exposed 
in the river and stream channels, and others have been reported as being 
found at various depths in the digging of wells. The only deposits of 
any practical value are those found in the southeastern portion of the 
county, and at Hydes’ and Westmoreland’s bluffs, on the Trinity river, 
near the southwestern corner. ‘These have a greater known develop- 
ment than those of any other section, but the analyses of specimens from 
near Calthorp i in the east, and Hydes’ bluff in the west, show them to 
have too great a proportion of ash to admit of their utilization for any 
other than local or domestic purposes. 


34 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


ANALYSES OF LIGNITES FROM HOUSTON COUNTY. 


Volatile Fixed 


matter tenthott Ash. Water. Sulphur. Total. 


Rstod oh 3 sate Ra Re es 36.06 32.56 16.70 11.80 088 100 

fey G20 UN Cie a 3996 22.01 4003 4.52 0.48 100 

ape DES Or a a 40568780695 19 75 | ape 100 
LOCALITIES. 


No. 1. Hydes’ bluff. 
No. 2. A. Rice’s place, J. Bethed headright. 
No. 3. Wallace headright, near Calthorp. 


The southwestern field is the extension of a much greater deposit 
lying in Trinity county to the south. The western limit of the field 
enters Houston county near the southeastern corner of the W. D. Reed 
headright on Piney creek, and passes in a generally northern direc- 
tion a little to the west of Dodsonville postoffice, to the southwest 
corner of the W. E. Long headright. From this point the line of out- 
crop turns east as far as Cochino bayou. Crossing the bayou, the east- 
ern boundary, so far as known, extends in a southeasterly direction to 
and across the county line, on the John Applegate headright. The 
total area of this field is approximately fourteen square miles. The 
average thickness of the lignite is from four to six feet, and its quality 
is shown in analyses Nos. 2 and 3 given above. 

In the western part of the field, the lignite, as seen in the four foot 
deposit on Flat creek, is bright and glossy when first dug, but soon 
loses its color and become a dull lustreless black, with small, rounded, 
bright, glossy, bituminous-looking patches or spots scattered sparingly 
through the mass. It breaks readily into cuboidal blocks, and when 
dry has a tendency to crumble. On the eastern.side of the field, at 
Rice’s, the exposures when dug into show the lignite to have a dull 
brown color. 

In structure this field appears to be slightly trough-shaped, the lig- 
nite deposits having an increased thickness toward the centre. A section 
on the Wallace headright, near the western edge, shows it to have a 
thickness of four feet, and to be overlaid by a thinly laminated dark 
colored sandy clay. | 

Section in Flat creek, J. Wallace headright: } 


1osGrayrsandysurtace soil? lit). 2 ar ey She hs | aa 1 foot. 
Coarse gray sand with occasional deposits of coarse gravel and peb- 

CCR ek ye AT Ce aN PT A ee a REMORSE PS 14 feet. 

3:4 Dhinly laminated sandy clays. .*. 55 ak sk oa okt beg 43 feet. 

A). Ligntte wisipledmiey gob pee ian se cs po 2 oo at ot ole re 4 feet. 


About two hundred yards further west, on the same headright, the 
lignite forms the bottom of the creek for nearly one hundred feet, and 
has thinned out to about one foot. It is underlaid by a purple colored 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 35 


clay, and lies much nearer the surface than where it has a greater thick- 
ness. This exposure shows a section of: 


1. Dark gray sandy soil subject to periodical overflow... ........ 1 foot. 
1 SOC ENT GB Sen Ral O80 "Se ete Phe Argh oer Ce 5 feet. 
PERTTI AGG CIA Vantaa t Ue te iS. }ky).3%) 3, ic MRP te Sei ey Sys 4 feet. 
EE VaSanich, mu eesuameomcimn ey 6 dN MA ee 3 feet. 
RIEL yr ol SA Re he gd ia hk oc oc, tg NNR Sake WG a) ws 1 foot 
6. Purple clay 


Te ere eee ae re er eke Ora 8, 8 i Oy) Oe Le Ee we fee w SOU elie lO) ee 6 e@ 


The section shown in a stream near Mr. A. Rice’s house, on the J. 
Bethed headright, shows a nearly similar structure: 
Meow tay candy siriace SOU G6 6055/6, ley Ree wl 8 ed ole 1 foot. 


2. Gray sand with ferruginous pebbles, fine gravel seen in hill. . . . . 20 feet. 
3. Thinly laminated brown colored clay and sand with interlaminz of 


Paermotaceous Matters tn oo. eee sine aN tet. Ck eae hoe aya nae 4 feet 
A rec DLOWIPOr yitlk Clay. . 00s 0) es) Aetna le ote’ woth aes 1 foot. 
SIRT IRE MORON T Nol ESET SIT eg Late Wn pte kv eal MLR wl eerie Se 4 feet 


Throughout the intermediate region underlaid by the lignite the 
sections wherever shown are practically the same as those given. The 
lignite appears in the streams in every place where the cutting is deep 
enough to reach it, and it is also found in the well borings. On the 
W. Z. Millen headright it is six feet thick, and lies at a depth of thirty 
feet. Three miles northeast of the southwest corner of the J. B. 
Trenery headright it comes up to within eighteen feet of the surface. 

The southwestern lignite field is best developed at Hydes’ and West- 
moreland bluffs, on the Trinity river. At Hydes’ bluff the outcrop 
extends from near the ferry nearly half a mile in a southeasterly 
direction. ‘The section of bluff shows: 

1. Yellow sandy loam changing into an ashy gray on top, where cul- 
SONI PCM UTM wee ET ate TP POR ee Mihiety IS TINE) oy) 0 et wei le! e's i 8 feet. 


2. Conglomerate of ferruginous and siliceous pebbles, broken pieces 
of nodular iron ore, ferruginated and silicified wood and brown 


Oo PALE ool gi Gite SREB SON, SSRI SM Tok ie Ae ae 2° feet, 
3. Dark blue sandy clay, having one foot of laminated brown sandy 

clay on top, in contact with the conglomerate, the dark blue 

clay containing more or less of iron pyrites. 2. 2... 10 feet. 
4. Soft lignite. very friable and mixed with sand, in deposition very 

irregular, and.extending from two inches to... ........ Bteek: 
5. Light gray sandy clay, the clay becoming more prevalent towards 

BeDASe Ge ber, sur limes, hice tutte uise hole Gets Raat thin 4 10 feet. 
a ENING OF (Pie OSS es Rati G2 ee eR aa os Bes oa nea ea an 2to6 feet. 
EMR ERCD LEC LANG Bae fei dlc ye eis abe | vn oP hint; ee .8 8) we a 1} feet. 
8. Gray sand, containing nodules of sandstone .......... 4 feet. 


The lower bed of lignite at this place is very pronounced, and forms 
a ledge in some places six feet wide along the face of the bluff. In 
texture, it is strong and solid, of a dark glossy luster when first mined, 
which it retains for some time, but ultimately becomes a dead black. 
It breaks in large cuboidal blocks, and disintegrates slowly when ex- 


36 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


posed to the air. Its composition is very variable, changing materially 
at different portions of the bed. The analysis given shows it to have 
16.70 per cent of ash, but another determination of a specimen not 
many yards distant showed only seven per cent of ash. It is probable 
that the lignite from this deposit may, with the good facilities for 
transportation at hand, be utilized under much the same circumstances 
as that of the deposit at Alba, Wood county. 

A deposit is also reported as existing on the J. A. Miller headright, 
a short distance north of Knight’s creek. Small deposits are reported 
to exist at other places, but as they have been found in digging wells, 
no particulars of their structure or condition could be obtained. 


BUILDING STONES. 


The building stones of Houston county are wholly of sandstone, and 
belong principally to the Eocene and Miocene divisions of the Tertiary. 
Some dark red sandstones are found in the overlying Quaternary 
sands. ‘The Eocene and Miocene sandstones may be divided into two 
classes, each having characteristics and qualities peculiar to itself, and 
widely separated from each other. ‘The Eocene are chiefly of an al- 
tered glauconitic and ferruginous character, and are frequently only 
indurated sand, having the peculiar characteristics already described 
by Dr. Penrose.* Those belonging to the Miocene beds are altogether 
of a different nature. They are mostly of a whitish gray color, and 
are generally found bedded, the bedding being from two to four feet. 
They are also sometimes fossiliferous, in so far that they show broken 
remains of plant life. . 

The Quaternary sandstones are red or dark brown in color, soft in 

texture, and occur only in few places. "They are usually found in the 
shape of aggregations of bowlders, but very often solitary. 
_ Ferruginous sandstones and altered glauconitic sands are found 
scattered over the greater portion of that division of the county lying 
north of and at several places within a short distance south of Hurri- 
cane bayou. ‘They have been quarried for building purposes at several 
places, but chiefly at Cook’s mountain, about two and one-half miles 
west of Crockett, and at Hale’s quarry on the Sherman headright, 
about nine miles east of the town. 

Cook’s mountain, where the quarries are situated, shows an abrupt, 
almost precipitous face, looking north and northwest, and rising about 
130 feet above the level of the lower second bottom lands belonging to 
Hurricane bayou. No permanent quarries have been opened, and the 
building stone obtained from this place is taken altogether from the 
broken debris of the heavy bed of brownish yellow altered glauconitic 
sandstone forming the cap or covering of the mountain. It contains 
specks of mica and numerous casts of Eocene fossils, and shows a thick- 


*FRirst Annual Report, p. 87. 


a. Sa 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 37 


ness varying from six to ten feet. . It is easily obtained, and when 
freshly quarried very easy to cut and dress. It hardens on exposure to 
a firm and very durable stone. 

The stone found in Hale’s quarry is greenish yellow when first taken 
out, but upon exposure gradualiy assumes a yellowish brown color. 
When freshly broken it is very soft, but with its change of color be- 
comes much harder, though still retaining its friable character. It 
contains numerous mica specks, but so far as observed is non-fossilifer- 
ous. ‘This quarry is formed along the face of a ledge looking toward 
the north, and the rock bed has a face of five feet. ‘his sandstone 
has been quarried for building purposes at irregular intervals fora great 
number of years, the principal uses to which it is put being founda- 
tions and chimneys. d 

A deposit of grayish brown sandstone, ten feet thick, also occurs at 
Brookfield bluff on the Trinity river; and at Hall’s bluff, four miles 
further up the river, there is a bed of sandstone of a very similar char- 
acter, four feet thick. These sandstones are very friable, and so far as 
seen can only be classed as indurated sands, and of no value for build- 
ing purposes. 

In the southern portion of the county, the gray sandstones of the 
Miocene formation occur on the east side of the Chas. Campbell head- 
right, east corner of the J. Gregory headright, the west bank of White 
Rock creek, on the Francesca Martinez league, and near Pennington, 
on the Trinity county line. 

The deposit on the C. Campbell headright is a small outcropping of 
about twenty-five acres in extent, and occurs mostly in the form of 
large bowlders. The stone has a gray color when freshly broken, 
weathering to a light cream tint. In texture it is compact, siliceous, 
and contains specks of mica, and occasionally broken remains of plants. 

On the John Gregory headright the sandstones exposed lie in regular 
bedding, and are about fifteen feet thick. Thestrata are from ten inches 
to two feet in thickness, and the area occupied by the deposit is from 
fifty to sixty acres. In texture this sandstone resembles that on the 
Campbell headright, although its deposition is much more regular. 

‘The deposits on White Rock creek are not confined to Houston county, 
but extend for several miles into Trinity county. The sandstones out- 
cropping in the higher ground between the creek and its several branches, 
and along the banks of the main creek itself, are similar in quality and 
structure to those found on the Gregory headright. 

Small quarries have been worked at these three points for several 
years, and the materials used for building purposes. ‘These sandstones 
are of close enough texture to admit of dressing, and with the excep- 
tion of the deposit found on the Campbell headright, can be readily 
obtained in blocks large enough for any practical purpose. ‘The Camp- ° 


38 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


bell deposit, on account of the bowlder like form of the stones, will 
only supply blocks of a limited size. 

Scattered throughout the Quaternary deposits in the northwestern 
portion of the county, there are numerous aggregations of ferruginous 
sandstone bowlders, some of which attaina greatsize. The sandstones 
belonging to this class are of a brown or dark red color containing 
small segregations of iron ore and numerous specks of mica. In tex- 
ture they are coarse grained and soft. They have been utilized by the 
farmers and others living within the vicinity for building foundations 
and chimneys. 

A deposit of this class of material occurs on the Crockett road about 
a mile west of Grapeland, and similar deposits occur throughout the 
region as far west as Elkhart creek. 

Brown sandstones of this class occur in great quantities near Han- 
cock’s gin, on the A. W. Beckham headright, and along the banks of 
Coperas creek, in the northeastern portion of the county. In both of 
these places they are associated with deposits of conglomerate iron ore. 
Similar deposits associated with conglomerates, also occur on the Stow 
headright, about twelve miles northeast of Crockett, on the Rusk and 
Crockett road, and on the J. EK. Allen headright, near the Allen school 
house, about nine miles northeast of Crockett on the same road. 


CLAYS: 


No good clay, suitable for the manufacture of any of the finer grades 
of earthenware, have been found in Houston county. Brick clays or 
earths, in limited quantities, are found among the Quaternary deposits 
in the northern half of the county, but with the exception of the 
works at Crockett, no brick making establishment exists. Occasional 
kilns of brick have been burned at Lovelady and Grapeland, and 
several other places, but none within the last two or three years. The 
brick works at Crockett have been in existence during the last three 
years, and usually employ sixteen hands. ‘The bricks are made from 
a somewhat gravelly yellowish brown brick loam, found in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the Mary Allen Seminary, by a Sword machine having 
a daily capacity of thirty thousand. These bricks are dried on the 
yard and require from seven to nine days to burn. When properly 
burned they are very hard, of a dark brownish gray color, marked with 
dark blue iron spots. The fuel used is a mixture of ocak and pine 
wood, in the proportions of three-fifths of oak to two-fifths of pine. 
About one cord of this mixed wood is required to burn one thousand 
bricks. The average annual output of this yard is between five 
hundred thousand and six hundred thousand, the statistics of the last 
three years being: 1889, 1,000,000; 1890, 600,000; 1891, 500,000. 

The large number burned during the season of 1889 was due to the 
contract obtained for the building of the Mary Allen-Seminary. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 39 


Some of the clays found in association with the upper brown marl 
beds may possibly be found of a good quality for the manufacture of 
vitrified paving bricks. An analysis cf a clay found in Hurricane 
bayou bottom lands, on the N. C. Hodges headright, shows it to have 
the following composition: 


Op A aoa gh AS ORT donate ame CNY 6s 9 ae ea 77.70 
be gor BREED ete L NETS (oh AS Ue ea ol IN lac a 10.37 
eg eS cote (ie cha Sa) 6 SONG), hd a OO | AR el a 9.33 
mE eh LU RMR at. Ue es Pee et ate. 1.70 
RESIS AE SME ARLES og Filth De Re ae tai oe a Trace 
aT ES he EER te ae he wh emia lat Rae el ia oe 24 
Rt ae eS eee i UNE kn, on lea ec 54 

99.78 

TIMBER. 


Nearly three-fourths of the county is covered with timber. The 
classes represented are mostly oak, including the several varieties of 
that timber, pine, hickory and walnut. Gum, ash, elm and other 
kinds are scattering. The proportions of these timbers appear to be 
approximately: Oak, thirty-five per cent; pine, thirty per cent; hick- 
ory, fifteen per cent; walnut, ten per cent; gum and other trees, ten 
percent. ‘The oak is found scattering over the greater portion of the 
county, and is the prevailing timber throughout the northwest and 
western areas. ‘he pine, although found in scattering plats near the 
center of the county, occurs principally in the south and southeastern 
portions, where it is estimated to yield from eight hundred to ten 
thousand feet of lumber per acre. It is altogether of the short leaf 
variety; no long leaf pine grows in Houston county. The hickory is 
generally found on the bottom and second bottom lands, and the walnut 
is altogether confined to the second bottom land. These trees are gen- 
erally scattering. The whole county may probably average from 
sixteen to twenty-five cords per acre. 

From the last assessment rolls there appear to be thirteen saw mills 
within the county. Some of these, however, have been shut down 
from various causes. - 


WATER SUPPLY. 


The drainage of the county is divided into eastern, western, and 
southern basins. ‘The Neches river with its tributary streams, the 
San Pedro, Hickory and Camp creeks, Cochino bayou, and Piney 
creek, form the main arteries of the eastern area. The western divis- 
ion is drained by Trinity river with the Big and Little Elkharts, Hur- 
ricane bayou, Caney bayou and Negro creek as tributary streams. 
The southern area, or that of White Rock and Tantabogue creeks, is 
what may be looked upon as a subsidiary basin tributary to the Trinity 
river. ‘The divide or water shed between these two areas is chiefly a 


40 HOUSTON COUNTY. 


series of high land covered throughout most of its course by a light 
gray sand. ‘Towards the north, the divide extends in an approxi- 
mately southeast direction as far south as the Luke West headright, 
about five miles east of Crockett, from which place it divides, the east- 
ern division extending nearly southeast, and separating the White 
Rock area from that of the Neches. The western ridge between the 
areas of White Rock creek and the Trinity proper, extends west as 
far as Crockett, and then bends southerly, a direction it maintains to 
the county line. 

The creeks found in the northern portion of the county form a strong 
contrast to those in the southern section. In the north, they are strong 
and active all the year round, and have been utilized as a producer of 
power for various saw and other mills at one time located along their 
banks. At present these streams are utilized to drive four mills and 
gins. The southern creeks are mostly slow and sluggish, meandering 
through broad bottom lands, subject to extensive overflows in the 
Winter and spring and dry during the summer, or at best containing 
water only in a few small pools. 

Good springs of water occur throughout the northern, and a few in 
the southern half of the county, but as a general rule the water supply 
has to be obtained from wells, and that of the southern district is usu- 
ally of a very poor character, and disagreeable to the taste. 

The Neches river is not navigable in any portion of its course bor- 
dering on Houston county. ‘The Trinity has been ascended by small 
steamboats as far north as Green’s landing, in Anderson county. Both 
rivers may, however, be profitably utilized for rafting purposes. 


Pe SHC ION’ 


FROM 


TERRELL, KAUFMAN COUNTY, 


TO 


SABINE PASS ON THE GULF OF MEXICO. 


BY 


WM. KENNEDY. 


pn LCE EON 


FROM 


TERRELL, KAUFMAN COUNTY, 


TO 


SABINES PASS*ON DHE. GULF OF MEXICO. 


BY WM. KENNEDY. 


Toa OPE CoA aren ye: 


In the First Annual Report of this Survey,* Dr. Penrose, Geolo- 
gist for East Texas, examined the rivers crossing the Tertiary depos- 
its, and described the beds forming the sections shown along the Brazos, 
Colorado and Rio Grande. The uniform sequence of the various depos- 
its, as exhibited in these river sections, led to the general inference that 
these, or deposits of a similar character, would be found extending 
clear across the State, from the Louisiana line on the east to the Rio 
Grande on the west. 

While these river sections are very valuable in many respects, they 
do not give a consecutive view of the whole of the beds constituting 
the various divisions of the Tertiary and newer strata in Southern and 
Eastern Texas. This is necessarily so, as the river banks have not, 
except at few places, sufficient height to disclose any continuous order 
of succesgion of the beds. From the series of bluffs presented here 
‘and there, sometimes comparatively close together, but in many cases 
at long intervals apart on the three rivers mentioned, Dr. Penrose con- 
structed the sections described by him in his preliminary report. 

With the twofold object of ascertaining the continuity of the de- 
posits through the region east of Dr. Penrose’s Brazos river section, 
and filling in the breaks necessarily left by him, in order to have as 
complete a section across the Tertiary areas of the State as could be 
obtained, I was instructed to run a line southeasterly across these areas 
from the border of the Cretaceous to the Gulf. 

In making such a line of sections, several very important conditions 
had to be taken into consideration, the most important being the total 
absence of reliable maps of the region to be traversed. The old maps 
published by the General Land Office, while useful in many respects, 
are practically of little or no value for geologic work, and for locating 
purposes are often very misleading. No roads are shown upon these 
maps, and nearly every stream is either incorrectly located, or not to 


* First Annual Report, Geological Survey of Texas, 1889, pp. 22-58. 


44 SECTION FROM KAUFMAN TO SABINE PASS. 


be found at all, having an existence only upon these maps. No topo- 
graphical maps of the region exist with the exception of one single 
sheet showing the topography of Cherokee county, made by the United 
States Geological Survey at the request of the State Survey. Until 
good, reliable topographic maps have been made, any geological work, 
however careful the observer may be, is liable to inaccuracies, both as 
to extent and thickness as well as the actual superposition of the beds 
themselves, and all owing to no fault of the observer. This can be 
readily understood from the fact that while at one place a deposit of 
sand may be loose and full of fossil remains, several miles away the 
sand of the same bed may have become impacted and appear as a soft 
sandstone containing very few evidences of the rich fauna seen in the 
loose soft sand, and yet these two may really be a continuation of each 
other and form the same geological horizon. 

A very important consideration was the necessity of having some 
data as to the relative elevations of the different portions of the coun- 
try through which the line extended. ‘The levels of the lines of the 
various railways running towards the coast in the most direct course 
conformable to the one the sections were wanted, offered the best data 
obtainable and consequently the line of the section was begun on the 
border of the Cretaceous area three and a half miles east of Terrell, in 
Kaufman county, and carried along the following roads: 


1. From Terrell to Mineola. along the line of the Texas and Pacific 


Railway, in a generally east by south course. ......... 46 miles. 
2. -From Mineola to Tyler, along the International and Great North- 
ern Railway; southerly; tlc) a esate oat Gente 25 miles. 


3. From Tyler. southwestward. through Smith. Cherokee and Ange- 
lina counties, to Lufkin, along the line of the Tyler Southeast- 


Orn Railway ys). i8s nye eine ah o> seed ed ae ie 90 miles. . 
4. From the Angelina river, south, along the Houston, East and West 

Texas Railway, to Corrigan, in Polk county .......... 28 miles. 
5. From Corrigan. east and southeast, along the Trinity and Sabine 

Railway, to Colmesneil, in Tyler county ........... 29 miles. 
6. From Rockland, on the Neches river south, along the Southern | 

Pacific, Railway, to Sabine Pass. Gs; gus i-cls aia 6 os eae 73 miles. 


This gives a total line of sections of 291 miles, in a course more or 
less in accordance with the general dip of the Tertiary and newer de- 
posits of the State. In addition to the region in the immediate vicinity 
of the section, many other places were examined, and where possible 
have been brought into the line. 

The results arrived at may be briefly shown in the following table 
giving the thickness of the different series of deposits. These thick- 
nesses are liable to change in some respects, as more detailed and widely 
extended examinations of the region progress, but so far as our present 
knowledge goes may be looked upon as reasonably accurate: 


INTRODUCTION. 45 


Peer ivecentnaterialac pega oo... oooh ere eae 50 feet. 
II. Quaternary— 
Iepamands andl oramerseio ss. Slade eee 60 feet. 
2. Clays including the Coast Clays. .... 100 feet. 
———— 160 feet. 


III. Miocene (tentatively) Grand Gulf— 
1. Bluedimy clays and gray sands containing 
fossil palm wood, seen at Fleming, in 


Dgler COnneyey gym ok ee oan 260 feet. 
2. Fayette sands and sandstones. ..... 490 feet. 
3. Angelina county beds. laminated blue gyp- 
SOUS ClAV SOREN yea ra cel 4 ib si’. /4.5-l cigs 100? feet. 
——-—— 850 feet. 
IV. Eocene equivalent to Timber Belt beds— , 
1. Marine deposits, divided into . 
a. Upper, or Cook’s mountain series. . 390 feet. 
b. Lower. or Mount Selman series. . . 260 feet. 
——-—— 650 feet. 
2. Lignitic deposits— 
BAL WEINGOLAr iy Ly weie. hi feccky for o00) feet: 
He AdeGtaneimatine «5 oth is) A B00. Mest 
———— 900 feet. 
3.\ Basal Clays, or Wills Point Clay...°. . 260 feet. 
——-——-1810 feet. 
V. Cretaceous, found in wells at Grand Saline... 357 feet. 


While the general results of the season’s work, and the sequence of 
deposits in this portion of the State, correspond very nearly with the 
results arrived at by Dr. Penrose, many beds not seen by him along the 
rivers have been observed and placed in their true positions. A great 
many gaps yet remain unfilled, however, and the work of several sea- 
sons will be required to bring the various divisions of the general section 
of the Tertiary areas into close harmony with each other. 

The following report has been divided into two sections, showing, 
first, a general statement of the sequence of the deposits, and second, 
- the details of the examinations made. In an appendix to the second 
division will be found a table of elevations of the main points along the 
line of section. 

Throughout these details such permanent points as could be found 
were used as much as possible to locate the different sections. While 
station houses, switches and ends of sidings have in many places formed 
these points, the mile posts, being nearly permanent, have been utilized 
as far as possible, and by reference to their numbering any of the sections 
can readily and easily be located. In cases where sections were obtained 
in localities distant from the line of railway, their positions are referred 
to by the name of the stream on which they are to be found and the 
headright upon which they are located. 

The nomenclature of the beds has been changed so that Dr. Penrose’s 
Basal Clays and the Timber Belt beds are included in the Eocene, while 
the Miocene may be considered the equivalent of his Fayette beds. The 
other divisions are included in Dr. Penrose’s post-Tertiary deposits. 


46 SECTION FROM KAUFMAN TO SABINE PASS. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 


CRETACEOUS. 


After leaving the upper margin of the ponderosa marls at mile post 
186, three and a half miles east of Terrell, rocks of the Cretaceous age 
do not occur anywhere along the line of the section. Indeed it may 
~ be said that, with the exception of a few salines of very small areal 
extent, such as Brooks and Steen salines, in Smith county, and a small 
saline in Anderson county, no actual exposures of any deposits of the 
Cretaceous age are as yet known to occur anywhere in that portion of 
the State east of the Trinity. These salines have already been de- 
scribed in the First and Second Annual Reports of the Survey, and 
need not be repeated here. | 

The Cretaceous rocks found at Grand Saline, in Van Zandt county, 
nowhere, so far as known, approach the surface, but are covered with 
over 180 feet of Tertiary sands, clays and shaly clays, and are only 
found in borings of the several wells put down for the purpose of ob- 
taining salt. ‘The upper series of the Cretaceous formation found in 
these wells appears to be a blue limestone mixed with streaks of sand 
and gray limestone, having a thickness of 42 feet in the Jone Star 
well, and 28 feet in the Richardson well, a few feet below which the 
salt deposit of 300 feet occurs. 

While it may be possible that other Cretaceous islands occur in the 
area traversed by the section, the structural position of those known 
tends to the hypothesis that they do not, and that, during Cretaceous 
times, this region formed a triangular bay, of which the widest portion 
was towards the south. It will be observed from the locations of the © 
islands already known, that the Texas areas have a course slightly west 
of south, or approximately parallel with the Cretaceous shore line sev- 
eral miles further west, those already laid down on the map of Louisi- 
ana, accompanying the Third Annual Report of the Geological Survey 
of Louisiana,* show a course decidedly from northwest to southeast. 
These two lines, if prolonged, would converge somewhere near the 
southeast corner of the Indian Territory, or approximately within the 
area occupied by the Rocky Comfort Chalks of the Arkansas Survey. 

Want of reliable data prevents any theorizing upon the connection 
between these Cretaceous areas, and numerous observations will yet be 
required to establish their relationship and true position with regard to” 
the intervening bay-like area in which they do not appear. 


*Third Annual Report, Geological Survey of Louisiana. F. V. Hopkins, State 
Geologist, 1872, p. 203. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 47 


KOCENE. 


Of the geological series of deposits exhibited in East Texas none of 
the divisions have the same interest as the Kocene, covering, as it does, 
an area over one hundred miles in width, and extending from the State 
line on the east, westward to and beyond the Brazos river, with its 
great thickness and rich fauna of numerous and beautifully preserved 
marine shells exhibited in some of the upper beds. 

The Eocene deposits are represented in East Texas by three different 
sets of beds, the uppermost of which are, from their structure and 
contained fauna, of undoubted marine origin, while the immediately 
preceding, or the lignitic group, is probably the representative of Hil- 
gard’s Northern Lignite, or the Eo-lignitic of Heilprin, and from the 
numerous deposits of lignite found throughout the beds, and the occa- 
sional occurrence of plarit remains, must have been either estuarian or 
marsh during the period of formation. The third and lowermost 
division, which has been described by Dr. Penrose* as the Basal or 
Wills Point Clays, and in this report denominated the Basal beds, appear 
from their structure to be partly, at least, of marine origin, and in all 
probability represents in some of the beds a marine phase of the north- 
ern lignitic. The existence of a twenty foot bed of white limestone 
containing innumerable casts of 7urritella, Cardita and Ostrea, and other 
marine fossils, mark that portion of these deposits at least as have had 
a marine origin. These beds may probably be correlated with the 
Midway or Pine Barren section of the Lignitic in Alabama. 

These deposits do not, so far as known, contain any lignite, but 
their intimate relations with the lower division of the lignite-bearing 
strata, and the close proximity of several extensive deposits of lignite, 
would suggest that at least part of the upper clays of the Basal beds 
were laid down under very similar conditions to those containing the 
lignite, and apparently there can be no good reason for making any 
division between them. ‘They have, however, been kept separate, 
pending further examination, and the name Basal Clays, or Basal beds, 
_has been retained for stratigraphical purposes. 

The three divisions have been described under the headings of : 
1. Basal or Wills Point Clays. re 


2. Lignitic group. 
8 Marine beds. I Timber Belt beds. 


1. BASAL OR WILLS POINT CLAYS. 


The deposits assigned to the Basal beds of the lower Eocene directly 
_ overlies the ponderosa marls of the Upper Cretaceous. Between the 
two series of deposits, where examined along the contact in Kaufman 


*First Annual Report Geological Survey of Texas, 1889, p. 19. 
Bulletin No. 48, United States Geological Survey, p. 70. 


48 SECTION FROM KAUFMAN TO SABINE PASS. 


county, there appears to be little or no want of conformity, and they 
are in places so much alike in external appearance that it is difficult to 
tell where the one ends and the other begins. On close examination 
the difference is clearly marked by the structure and color of the Ter- 
tiary, the lamination of the clays and the sandy partings being more 
distinct than the laminze of the underlying marls. ‘The fauna is also 
different. 

Another characteristic is the presence of numerous bowlders of gray 
limestone containing thin veins or seams of crystalline calcite and frag- 
ments of undetermined gastropods, While occasionally occurring 
in the upper brown clays, the bowlders are mostly imbedded within the 
gray sands of the formation near the contact of the lower beds with the 
Cretaceous. In this place they are seen lying in the sands, forming an 


irregular bed. Numerous similar bowlders a]so occur in Muddy Cedar _ 


creek bottom about half a mile northwest of Elmo station; also east of 
Elmo on Walnut creek; also imbedded in clay on the Goschen road, 
two and one-half miles south of Wills Point; and on the south side of 
Allen creek, four and a half miles southwest of Wills Point, they are 
found imbedded in a stratified yellow clay similar to that found ona 
hill near Mrs. Murray’s house, about a mile east of Rocky Cedar. In 
going east from Wills Point the calcareous bowlders imbedded in yel- 
low clay occur at several places scattered over an extent of country 
nearly two miles in width. 3 

Another feature of the yellow clays is the numerous nodules or concre- 
tions of carbonate of lime found in them throughout the whole of the 
area traversed by the section, as well as in many other places occupied 
by the thinly laminated brown clays or their accompanying overlying 
brown sands. | 

As a general conclusion, it may be stated that the calcareous calcitic 
bowlders and lime concretions are typical characteristics of these de- 
posits, and from their structure and contained fossil remains appear to 
have had their source or origin in some bed of Cretaceous deposits not 
now represented in this portion of the State, and have been deposited 
since the deposition of the lowermost beds of dark blue laminated and 
jointed clays. 


Interstratified with the clays, and inclosed between the upper brown 
clay and the lower dark blue division, there occurs a series of beds of 
white fossiliferous limestone and brown and dark bluish gray sands. 
These beds show a section of: 


1. White limestone containing numerous casts of shells. ....... 8 feet. 
23). BrOWM S40 (yal ee. i oI EW Ste Tis Laie Min “Sabie tons ey ts 2 feet: 
3. Limestone similar to No. 1, but containing a greater number of bi- 
valyeBhellsi gr iver tetae bere ee hata as neta e ee a ee Tee ey oo ee 10 feet. 
4,.; Dark bluish grayssandan' ae Seiya. ae ate heron Pekan a) 30 feet. 


These limestones and associated sands first appear upon the crest of 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 49 


the hill about half a mile northwest of the village of Elmo, where the 
upper limestone forms the surface of the hill for about one hundred 
yards. Nearer the village the limestones appear ina well digging, and 
are overlaid by the yellowish brown sand everywhere forming the sur- 
face deposit of this region. On going eastward from Elmo the lime- 
stones again appear in a tank at Cobb’s switch, and about a mile further 
east, on Rocky Cedar creek, they attain their maximum thickness of 
twenty feet. 

At Prairie Grove postoffice, about two miles north of the railway 
crossing over Rocky Cedar, the limestones also appear in most of the 
streams cut in the region, and from their thickness appear to extend 
much further north. 

Somewhere between Rocky Cedar creek and Wills Point these lime- 
stones appear to give out, as in a well bored two hundred feet deep 
they did not appear. 

A general section of the beds within the region around Wills Point 
gives the following: 


1. Yellowish brown sand containing calcareous bowlders of sand- 
stone, limestone with thin veins or seams, occasionally nodules 


of crystalline calcite, and containing occasional fossil remains . 30 feet. 

2. Yellow laminated clay with thin partings of yellow sand and con- 
taining occasional bowlders of silicious limestone ....... 90 feet. 

3. Massive bedded clay, showing no signs of lamination, containing 
. numerous bowlders similar to those of No. 1......2.2.2.. 30 feet. 


4. White limestone containing great quantities of fossil casts, chiefly 
Turitella (?1, Cardita planicosta, Ostrea (?) and other bivalve 


CSTE ES 278 0 OP ye ES CE ERG Das add ot eh Sgt aoa Ge 8 feet. 
To oak Seba a le S 2 C0" se AUN cone AS id Rie en pes a eas ae nn 2 feet. 
Limestone similar to No.4 ..... LY SAEED pe otcae eae ee iy 10 feet. 
Perera ie OU AME CI Ch coi Ol fot Bins aR a een tt Me oe de fet go Pow aay ea 2 30 feet. 


ee Sn 


8. Dark blue laminated and much jointed clays with thin sandy part- 

ings, containing occasional small bivalve shells chiefly, and having 

a thin pavement of siliceous nodules near its upper surface. . . 62 feet. 
CMELOGHMTNATI CM WOLe Se 5h) seit es Te Ga fe elie. wl eee 


262 feet. 


The dip of these beds, where traversed by the section, ranges from 
less than one to nearly five degrees, in a southeast direction. 

The greater portion of the area occupied by these deposits consists 
of prairie with small patches of timber lands interspersed. The timber 
is mostly blackjack and postoak, with a few black ash and sycamore 
trees along the creeks. 

The economic conditions present no peculiar features. The soils are 
all suitable for cultivation, although liable to suffer from prolonged 
dry weather. ‘The clays in many places are suitable for the manufac- 
ture of ordinary building bricks, but will probably be found unsuited 
for any of the finer grades of clay manufacture. 


50 SECTION FROM KAUFMAN TO SABINE PASS. 


No lignite has as yet been found in any of these deposits, although 
they occur in many places in the overlying strata. 


2. LIGNITIC BEDS. 


Immediately succeeding the Basal Clays, and in close contact with 
them, there lies an extensive series of sands, clays and lignites, having 
an aggregate thickness of over nine hundred feet. 

The western outcrop of these deposits occurs about three miles east 
of Wills Point, and the deposits themselves extend eastward beyond 
the Louisiana line. ‘Their northward extension has not yet been de- 
termined, but members of the series occur near Springdale, Douglass- 
ville and Hughes Springs, in Cass county, Daingerfield, in Morris 
county, and at Alba, in Wood county. In their southern extension 
they have been traced through Cass, Marion and Harrison, to the Sabine 
river. Similar beds also occur in Gregg county, south of Longview, 
in Upshur county, near Wilkins’ mill, and in Smith county, near Tyler. 

The sands are variously colored, being white, yellow, brown, red, 
gray, blue and black, the colors often shading into one another, and 
with the exception of the dark blue or black, and occasionally white 
beds, present no uniformity of coloration for any distance. In structure 
they are laminated or thinly stratified, massive, cross-bedded, and 
frequently interlaminated with clay. In estimating their dip or thick- 
ness no reliance can be placed upon their structure, as the beds.occur 
in all positions and dip at all angles. © : 

The clays occur interstratified and interlaminated with the sands, 
and in such positions are mostly laminated. Massive and stratified 
beds also occur in many portions of the area, sometimes nearly free from 
sand, but the greater portion occur as sandy or micaceous clays. In 
color they are generally dark blue, gray and black. Occasionally de- 
posits of red and yellow clay occur, and frequently thin beds of white 
clay are found among the upper members of the series. 

The uppermost member of the deposits belonging to this group ap- 
pears to be a series of laminated or thinly stratified white and red sands 
and sandy clays, frequently merging into one another and forming a 
mottled sandy clay or clayey sand. The laminz generally do not ex- 
ceed one-fourth to half inch, but the white sandy clay frequently ex- 
pands to six or more feet. This series is best developed in the neigh- 
borhood of Queen City, Cass county, where it has a known thickness 
of sixty-five feet, for which reason I have called it the Queen City 
beds. In Marion county, near Jefferson, and in Harrison county the 
beds appear at various places immediately underlying a yellowish 
brown sandstone, or altered glauconite, containing occasional casts of 
fossils, chiefly of the Cardita planicosta type. ‘They occur also near 
Tyler, in Smith county, and as far south as to within two miles of 
Troupe. Towards the north they occur at Gladewater, in Gregg 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 51 


county, and from Wilkins’ mill, in Upshur county, westward to within 
a short distance of the Big Sandy. 

The lowermost beds of these deposits are not as yet exactly known, 
but from the records of the several deep wells bored within the area, 
appear to be dark blue or brown clays. ‘The yellow and brown sands 
found near the contact with the Basal Clays west of Edgewood do not 
represent the beds in absolute contact with the underlying Basal Clays, 
but are probably an overlap of some of the higher deposits belonging to 
this group. This condition is extremely probable, as towards the south- 
western portion of Van Zandt county, and only a distance of two 
miles or so from the place where the Basal Clays are last seen, lignitic 
deposits occur in association with blue clay. 

Between the Queen City beds and the lowermost deposits of that group 
there lies a series of black, blue and gray micaceous sands, blue, brown 
and gray clays, with thin strata of sandstones and limestones, and also 
containing many small seams and several heavy deposits of lignites, 
which unfortunately are not visible, or only partially so, at any of the 
places yet visited. 

Towards their southern side the beds belonging to this division pre- 
sent the initial flexing so largely developed throughout the immediately 
overlying marine or glauconitic beds. These undulations occur at 
many places south of the Sabine river, in Smith county, beginning a 
few miles south of Lindale, and extending as far south as Bullard, 
where the beds pass under the glauconitic sands of the Mount Selman 
series. From whatever cause this flexing may have arisen, it is evi- 
dent that the same action involved the structure of these as well as the 
succeeding beds, although they are widely separated in composition 
and the conditions under which they were deposited. A striking re- 
semblance between the flexures of the two sets of beds, leading to the 
conclusion that this bending took place after the upper deposits had 
been laid down, is their general coincidence with each other and their 
uniform tendency to a northeast and southwest course, or a course ap- 
proximately parallel to the old Cretaceous shore-line. 

The structure and position of these underlying beds can best be seen 
in the well sections obtained from different portions of this field, which 
will be found in the succeeding pages. 

1. Lone Star Salt Works well, Grand Saline. 

2. Richardson Salt Works well at Grand Saline. 

o. Well at Mineola, Wood county. 

These deposits so far have yielded no fossils beyond a few broken 
plant remains found in the stratified bluish sandy clay north of Grand 
Saline, and whatever may be the ultimate correlation of these deposits, 
they occupy a position lower than the altered glauconitic fossiliferous 
sandstones so extensively developed to the south of this region, and 


52 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


also found as outliers throughout the central portion of Harrison 
county and higher than the deposits denominated as the Basal Clays 
by Dr. Penrose. 

3. MARINE BEDS. 

The succeeding beds in the ascending scale are a group of marine 
deposits consisting of a series of sands, greensands and clays, having 
a total thickness of approximately six hundred and fifty feet. 

Their areal extent embraces a ridge of land, approximately forty 
miles in width and having an elevation of from three hundred and 
fifty to seven hundred feet above tide, extending across the counties of 
Harrison, Gregg, Rusk, Smith, Cherokee and Houston. ‘They occupy 
the greater portions of Cherokee and Anderson counties, the whole of 
the northern half of Houston county, and a great extent of Sabine, 
Nacogdoches and San Augustine, as well as portions of Smith and 
Henderson counties. Across the Trinity they extend westward, and 
in Harrison county, to the northward, they narrow to a point and 
become more or less broken into isolated hills. Small outliers of the 
same age are also found at Hughes’ Springs and Atlanta and in the 
northern part of Cass county. , 

The outlines of these beds have not yet been traced to any extent. 
They are known to overlie the red and white sands and sandy clays of 
the Queen City beds in Harrison county, three miles north of Marshall, 
where they come in direct contact. To the west of Marshall they are 
again seen overlying the Queen City beds. On the south side of the 
Sabine river, the brown ferruginous sandstones belonging to the basal 
division rise thirty feet above the level of the river. Westward, in 
Smith county, near Bullard, six miles north of Mt. Selman, the base 
of the series is found in wells at a depth of twenty-four feet, resting 
upon a black lignitic clay. In Henderson county they occur only in 
' the southeastern portion as iron capped hills. ‘Toward the south, in 


Houston county, they dip under a series of thinly laminated blue clay: 


and sand containing crystals of selenite; and near Alto, in Cherokee 
county, the upper beds are overlaid unconformably by a series of black 
clays and sands containing crystals of gypsum. 

The Marine beds may be divided into two groups—-the Basal, from its 
greatest development in Cherokee county, may be called tentatively 
the ‘‘Mount Selman’’ series, while the uppermost, from its typical de- 
velopment in Houston county, may be denominated the ‘‘Cook’s Moun- 


tain’’ series. 
THE MOUNT SELMAN SERIES. 


The beds of the Mount Selman series rise abruptly from the north- 
ward to a height of seven hundred feet above sea level, and consist of 
a series of brown sands, blue clays, greensands, altered greensands, 
glauconitic sandstone and laminated iron ore, and are more or less fos- 
siliferous throughout. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. eo 


General section from Jacksonville to Bullard, across the Mount Sel- 
man beds: 


EEOC: hee eee eet, | Se nme A: oh L, 10 feet. 
2. Brown sand, ferruginous pebbles andironore........... 15 feet. 
mmeerrOctled Satid.: “mummy ee te ee es a Nitto. eae Fae 10; feet: 
SACOM TAS VOLUN eames ls wh a ot AERA RMR AS Soo e a tee 4 feet. 
LOW ML ANC IVC OW SANTSLOTG O..% 5) 01) ars. abit ian nalaac jel se es 10 feet. 
6. Alternate strata of iron ore and brown sand, the ore in generally 

laminated deposits of two to ten inches, and sand from one to two 

PCE OME ye. SP CRNTL ONT. OTR ests Soe, See ge ee ce mate fit oh veo: 1eet: 
7. Dark greensand Geol areabtaet casts of small bivalve shells ..... . 5 feet. 
I eCLOIAVEYVISANCN TT. Vista ts hee RUA LG ROPE Mw ea 1 foot. 


(9. Dark green nearly black sand, containing thin seams of ferruginous 
materials near top, and also containing small fishteeth and Cardita 


TREN, BNSC BIIE Can SINNER Sela ie Sree) Ph ee lets Ay ae ae 12 feet. 
PSS TOnAMEn sw Ameen NOT ne Teg oS sel be ke ey 10 feet. 
Pemery Wite sand 62.024. bsp dt Me Hee Bebe aN kee tah eal 60 Ae rie abe a 10 feet. 


12. Alternate strata of brown sand and laminated iron ore, ore generally 
wavy and not more than two to six inches, and sand one to two 


Rah mE SRO BEE itt ac a vo! ales eae wlagh (gh gb G Rag hla! Ve jes, 0s 20 feet. 
13. Pale blue and brown clay, mottled in places and laminated in 
Peet ee eM AB ats boos cee Sohal Maes Se 64 15 feet 


14. Alternate strata of altered amersagente brown sand Hi iron ore, the 
‘ore generally irregularly deposited, laminated and siliceous, and 


not exceeding six inches to one foot, the sand from six inches to 


pete mene Lorient MeeruN DT Ces) ea eo ER ee ah . 55 feet. 


15. Brown sand, forming the surface near Bullard, but passing under 
No. 12 at the base of the hill, altered greensand, changing to yel- 


fowia few eet Under srousid.s 7. a. id, . 40 feet. 
16. Dark green sand, containing fossil shells and a few Serie FECL agains feet: 


17. Ljignite or “‘black dirt’’ having the appearance of drift, containing 


Per awOte WOR Lea VEtm CLG. tn (0 mime n abe gid hee le ee et 
18. Dark lignitic clay, jointed in places, and having the joints filled with 
glossy lignitic material and sand, and said to contain small white 


Stet suet Tite DOLtOm mani s') cdl t. iiranbe | aioe ited ga) eC ye eo 29s 

19. Brown clay at bottom of well near Bullard, duginto. ....... 
The minor folds noticed in the beds between Mineola and Tyler are 
greatly increased in force in the Mount Selman series, and even this 
mountain, which may be looked upon as being among the highest, if 
not the highest point in this portion of the country, shows its structure 
to be that of an elevated synclinal trough. Minor undulations also 
occur throughout the whole series of the deposits to the southward as 
far as New Birmingham, and probably further to the southeast than is 
at present known. So marked are these undulations in connection with 
the water supply of the region, in many portions of the country under- 
laid by the beds of this and the succeeding series of greensands, that a 
knowledge of their structure is of immediate and real service to the 
- inhabitants of the several counties embraced by these beds. It is no 
uncommon thing, in traveling through this region, to hear the remark 


54 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


made and the wonder expressed that shallow wells situated upon the tops 
of the hills contain a never failing supply of watér, while those in the 
valleys and along the hill sides require to be of great depth to insure 
even a limited quantity. Asa general thing the tops of the anticlinals 
have disappeared through erosion, and many of them are now occupied 
by the streams of the country. . 
The causes of this folding are not sufficiently well known, nor have 


they as yet been examined throughout the whole of the area subject to: 


them with that degree of care which will be required to work out their 
complete structure. With the partial knowledge now possessed no ac- 
curate opinion can be given as to the actual causes that may have 
induced such an extensive series of folds as have evidently been the 
means of the elevation of these hills. Whether these folds have been 
due to an unevenly eroded Cretaceous sea bottom at the time of their 
deposition, or from other and more remote causes, is not at present 
known. 

The prevalent idea that the changes of dip found in the overlying 
beds are due to the erosion of the lower sand deposits, through the action 
of springs and other underground waters, will have to be abandoned. 
It is undoubtedly true that many of the changes found locally in the 
neighborhood of the streams are due to this kind of erosion, but some 


other cause must be found for such an extensive series of undulations - 


as occur in this region, involving as it does two so widely separated sets 
of deposits as these and the underlying lignite beds. Our present knowl- 
edge of the life history of these deposits is extremely meagre. The only 
fossils so far found consist of a few broken undetermined shells of the 
cardita type, a few casts of a small bivalve, and several small shark 
teeth. 

COOK’S MOUNTAIN SERIES. 

The chief characteristics of the upper group of the Marine beds are in 
many respects lithologically the same as those of the Mount Selman series. 
They comprise an extensive series of greensands, greensand marls, altered 
greensand containing thin strata of carbonate of iron, indurated altered 
fossiliferous greensand, green fossiliferous clays, glauconitic sandstones 
and clays, stratified black and gray sandy clays, brown fossiliferous 
sands, and black or yellow clays with limy concretions, with occasional 
local deposits of black sand with gypsum crystals. The prevailing de- 
posits, however, are the greensands in their several characters. A strik- 
ing distinction between this series and the underlying Mount Selman is 
the extensive fauna found in the Cook’s Mountain beds. 

The general section here given represents the beds of this group 
from Independence postoffice, in Cherokee county, to Alto, a distance 
of twenty-five miles. The details of the Houston county series have 
already been given in the report on the geology of that county. 


"© (eo 2 eee 
ie Mh ee. (8 


ee 


Scat a 


on 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 55 


SECTION—INDEPENDENCE TO DIAL. 


Cross-bedded sand with nodules of white clay ...... , 5 feet. 
Altered greensand containing white nodules, thin streaks Be 

rOMOLe Und Cast OL MOssdie,,°...°'.'s . Whee GkOREe he «ike ; 80 feet. 
BPeorciepiowiauG.woirasand .<. 4. wkd Pee We an oe eile 2 feet. 
mnsply lamiiated pbiuersand’ 0°. 2. NN LE eM 6 feet. 
Thinly stratified or laminated red and kot sand and white 

Sel, Pa eee Sets ae LA GIN Re BE TADAS Nt os OS ee 6 feet. 

SECTION—RUSK PENITENTIARY HILL 

SPU Sanan Lat eh! ON SH 5. Deyn ehh Me aS x incl sa SD Deets ; 20 feet. 
Interstratified laminated ferruginous material, iron ore anil. 

PUI SSS ANG ES COIS sha OM 1 Ge GON ache ea EEC RR 40 feet. 
Laminated or thinly eereened oa and Anes five sand and 

oH LEIS Tee | QR? SE AEN ia TAN ee cole oa - 20 feet. 
Mottled red and Rife oe fine raihane belonging to and 

forming the lower partof No.3. ....... aids he Pap. 25 feet. 
Peeaioauclate ferrginouspravel 26.) SS Na de aie 5 feet. 
Brownish stratified sand, mottledin places. ......... 60 feet. 
Grayish blue stratified sandin creek ............ 3 feet. 

NEW BIRMINGHAM SECTION. 

LS oc EN es LY at Py Bee ie <4 Mice et ees 10 feet. 
Micaceous sandstone Pantaiins LON Ba gen, ae da ay eS : > feet. 
MAN USLOUGH sm. vu Civonsgrat sory a. 5 SIE S aetna: on eiget 8 in. 
aT hata UCTS EC 6a Ee Goce AN NAO J aig A 1 foot. 
Altered pinitic Stet: Gasts'of fossils: . 5 0 5... aot fa GO feet. 
Pe UICRSAMC CA UMRE LON Sire HELE Oe th omy ee aS , 1 foot- 
Altered glauconite with casts of fossils and thin seam of ae 

DiC COS MOLEC tom Pte i tk RE ese KAS 21 feet. 


Ref yeSHAC ers BRIG. fai Get M aye oe ante, Leet cer ee 5 ce eG oe 5 to 20 feet. 
eer Pit ONSisanastOned cies 2) We wy bes do. Bye bok hee, a Uelde : 1 foot. 
POMC ICO ALM OMACE cig) ah Wg Mee. pe oP iss Val eo 14 feet. 
Laminated iron ore and brown sand (altered greensand) . . .10 to 15 feet. 


Fossiliferous altered brown glauconitic sand, containing Azo- 

mia ephippiotdes, Ostrea selleformis, Cardita planicosta and 

other fossils, and streaks and nodules of calcite ..... 6 feet. 
*Yellowish brown and grayish brown indurated glauconitic one 

containing Scutella caput-linensis, Gryph@a thyrse, Ostrea 


selleformis and other fossils. ... . Hime sn 20 feet. 
Greensand containing casts of fossils. ...........-. 6 feet. 
Brown sandstone, altered glauconite with casts of fossils. . . 30 feet. 
Greensand with gasteropods and fish teeth ......... 8 feet. 


These beds present in some slight degree the same undulating struc- 


ture as is seen in the Mount Selman series. This, however, is only seen 
near the base of the series, and where they come in direct contact with 
the beds of that division. As they ascend the scale the flexing ceases 
altogether, or is so slight as not to beappreciable. Toward the southern 


*This bed forms a well defined horizon from the Louisiana line westward to be- 


yond the Trinity river. 


56 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


border these deposits assume a general uniform southeast dip of nearly 
sixteen feet tothe mile. "The southern border, so far as has been traced, 
breaks off somewhat abruptly, and is strongly indented by several great 
bay-like openings, and probably more than one long, narrow, river-like 
channel, through and among which the succeeding deposits have been 
formed in an unconformable manner. 

The southern boundary can be easily traced from its entrance into the 
State in Sabine county, through San Augustine, Nacogdoches, Cherokee 
and Houston, as far west as the Trinity river, and probably much fur- 
ther, by a heavy bed of grayish brown, changing to a yellowish brown 
indurated sand, characterized wherever found by the presence of the 
fossils, Scutella caput-linensis, Gryphea thyrse and Ostrea divaricata, 
Other fossils occur in this bed, but so far as yet known these appear to be- 
long almost exclusively toit. It is usually about twenty feet thick, and 
the Scutella caput-linensis have not as yet been found in any of the oth- 
ers. ‘The bed immediately overlying this is a brown altered glauconitic 
sand, with calcitic streaks and nodules containing Anomia ephippioides 
in great quantities, Ostreu selleformis, Cardita planicosta and other fos- 
sils. ‘This bed occurs at the two places, Alto and Cook’s mountain, and 
at many intermediate points between. It does not, however, exceed a 
general average thickness of ten feet, being six at Alto and ten in Hous- 
ton county. | 

The extensive fauna of this series appears to indicate that it was in 
part at least a litoral or old sea margin, over which comparatively quiet 
and not very deep water prevailed. The following isa partial list of the 
fossils collected at Alto and other places in Cherokee and through Hous- 
ton county, and identified by Professor Angelo Heilprin. They are all 
well preserved and in many places are found in abundance. 


List of specimens collected in the neighborhood of Alto and McBee’s 
school, Cherokee county: 


Gryphea thyrse, Gabb. Cerithium whitfieldi, Heilprin. 
Ostrea alabamensis, Lea. Crassatella texana, Heilprin. 
Ostrea divaricata, Lea. Rostellaria lamarckit, Lea. 
Ostrea selleeformis, Conrad. Arca mississippiensis, Conrad. 
Crassatella antestriata, Gabb. Plicatula filamentosa, Conrad. 
Scutella caput-linensis, Heilprin. Pecten deshayesii, Lea. 

Cardita planicosta, Conrad. Fish teeth, several varieties. 


Anomia ephippioides, Gabb. 


Specimens collected six miles southwest of Alto, on the Tillman 
Waters headright: 
Scutella caput-linensis, Heilprin. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. a1 


Specimens collected in Houston county— 
1. At Alabama bluff: 


Anomia ephippioides, Gabb. * Vermetus(?), undescribed, in great 
Natica, ———. quantities. 
Clavella penrosei, Heilprin. Cardita planicosta, Conrad. 


Plicatula filamentosa, Conrad. 


2. In Hurricane bayou and near Cook’s mountain: 


Dentalium, ———(?) Plicatula filamentosa, Conrad. 
Cardita planicosta, Conrad. Pyrula, sp. ind. 

Gryphoa thyrscee, Gabb. Pinna, sp. ind. 

Anomiu ephippioides, Gabb. Clavella penrosei, Heilprin. 
Conus sauridens, Conrad. FPecten deshayesiti, Lea. 
Cardita tetrica, Conrad. Turbinolia, sp. ind. 

Natica, (?) Ostrea alabamensis, Lea. 
Cerithium whitfieldi, Heilprin. Ostrea divaricata, Lea. 
Messalia venusta, Conrad. Ostrea selleformis, Conrad. 
Cordiera texana, Conrad. Shark teeth, several varieties. 
Pleurotoma denticula, Basterot. * Vermetus(?), undescribed, same as 
Fusus, i?) 7 at Alabama bluff. 


Volutalithes dumosa, Conrad. 


8. _Murchison’s prairie: 


Ostrea alabumensis, Lea. Rangia, ———(?) 

Cardita tetrica, Conrad. Cerithium whitfieldi, Heilprin. 

Cardita planicosta, Conrad. Crassatella antestriata, Gabb. 
MIOCENE. 


At the close of the period occupied by the deposition of the last of 
the Marine beds of the Eocene a break of considerable extent occurred, 


* The Vermetus(?) found in these beds differs from Vermicularia bognoriensis 
of the London Clay as figured in Prestwich’s Geology, Vol. I, figure 177b, and 
from the Vermetus rotu/a tigured by Morton in ‘‘Organic Remains of the Ferru- 
ginous Sand Formation.’’ American Journal of Science, Vol. XVIII, 1850, plate 
3, figure 18. While each of these fossils have four distinct whorls, this has only 
' three. It is smaller, more flattened and has an acuteborder. The free extremity 
of the tube tapers to a circular aperture one m.m.in diameter. The two inner 
whorls are slightly depressed and appear as if they increased in thickness from 
the centre to the inside edge of the outer whorl. Striations or lines of growth 
appear on the outer whorl. These strize are on the free extremity parallel with 
the aperture, but from the junction with the second whorl bend slightly back- 
ward. Two longitudinal ridges extend from the inner whorl forward to the point 
where the free extremity leaves the last point contact with the second. 

The greatest diameter is 10 m.m. and thickness from 2to3m.m. The free ex- 
tremity projects 5 m.m. beyond the last whorl. 

Probably.this fossil has already been described in some of the numerous publi- 
cations referring to the Eocene fauna, but no reference to it can be found in any 
of the books at present in the library of the Survey or in my own collection.—K. 


58 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


and extensive erosion appears to have taken place prior to the deposi- 
tion of the succeeding deposits. Strong proof of this erosion can be 
seén almost anywhere along the line of contact where the succeeding 
denudation has carried off the overlying mantle of sand and gravel of 
the Lafayette formation. ‘This want of conformity is everywhere visi- 
ble, and the clays and sands of the Grand Gulf deposits are found fre- 
quently extending in long narrow strips for several miles into the region 
occupied by the Eocene marine formations, and at other places abutting 
bold headlands made up of the deposits of that age. 

This group of deposits has been assigned to the Grand Gulf division, 
and are tentatively considered as of Miocene age, chiefly upon litho- 
logical grounds. 

These deposits have been divided for convenience of description into 
three separate divisions: 

1. The Lufkin or Angelina county deposits, made up chiefly of dark 
blue gypseous clays, and gray sands containing quantities of saline 
matter. These beds also contain lignite, in many places in beds or de- 
posits of considerable extent. 

2. The Fayette sands, made up of soft sandstones, light colored 
clays, sandy clays, and sands with occasional remains of vegetable 
life. These deposits approach in texture and mode of occurrence the 
typical Grand Gulf formations, as described by Hilgard as occurring 
in Mississippi,“ and by Hopkins in Louisiana.+ The plant remains, 
such as palms, etc., are also in close correspondence. 

3. The Fleming beds consist of heavy deposits of clays of various 
colors, some of them containing concretions of lime, and gray sands. 
The plant remains of these sands are chiefly palm wood, and often 
occur in large pieces and considerable quantities. 


LUFKIN OR ANGELINA COUNTY DEPOSITS. 


Following the undoubted Eocene of the Cook’s Mountain beds, there 
comes a series of deposits made up chiefly of sands, sandy clays, clays 
and lignites. The country occupied by them is, as a whole, low and 
flat, in few places of sufficient relief to present anything but the most 
superficial section. 

In area this group extends from the Angelina river westward and 
southwestward across the Neches to the Trinity in Houston county. 
Eastward they probably cross the Angelina, and extend into and even 
across the southern portion of. Nacogdoches, and may also be found 
west of the Trinity in Leon and Madison counties; but whether they 
‘cross the Angelina or Trinity is not as yet known positively. The 


*Agriculture and Geology of Mississippi, 1860. p: 147. 

Hilgard, American Journal of Science, Vol. XLIII, May. 1892, p. 397. 
tFirst Annual Report Louisiana State Geological Survey, 1869. p. 98. 
Second Annual Report Louisiana State Geological Survey, 1870. p. 18. 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 59 


northern boundary, in the region crossed by the section, begins in 
Cherokee county, south of Atoi creek, and passes in a generally south- 
west direction along the margin of the Eocene beds, about two miles 
south of McBee’s school house, two miles south of Alto, and crosses 
the Neches river a little over three miles to the south of Robbin’s ferry. 
Continuing its southwesterly course as far as Crockett, it bends more to 
the west for twelve miles, when it again turns south and across the 
Trinity river at Alabama bluff, where it forms the upper division of 
the section. 

With the exception of only one or two places, the southern line has 
never been laid down. They are limited to the southward by a series 
of gray clays and gray sandstones, which occur about a mile south of 
the Neches, at Clark’s crossing on the Houston, East and West Texas 
Railway, where they rest upon the heavy deposit of gypseous clay be- 
longing to the beds under consideration. The sandstones also occur 
eastward at Rockland, on the Neches, ten miles north of Colmesneil, 
and to the westward they have again been crossed at Riverside, on the 
Trinity; but whether they rest upon the same gypseous clay has not 
yet been determined, as at neither of these places has the base of the 
sandstones been seen. 

The Lufkin deposits consist of gray, white and blue sands, some- 
times laminated and cross-bedded, although the greater portion of them 
show no structure whatever. They are frequently saline, and in dry 
weather, the water having evaporated, the pools show heavy incrusta- 
tions of salt. In many places they contain quantities of silicified 
wood, forming a strong contrast with the beautifully opalized wood of 
the succeeding deposits. Quantities of siliceous pebbles occur, at some 
places in small patches and at others in the form of thin, distinctly 
formed lines. "These pebbles are mostly rounded and water worn, but 
are occasionally fragmental or angular pieces of an older rounded 
bowlder. Although they are mostly of quartz or silicified wood, occa- 
sional pieces of syenitic rocks have been found scattered through the 
mass, and many have a thinly stratified or laminated dark blue or 
black slaty appearance. 

The principal bed underlying these sands, and the one probably form- 
ing the greater portion of the whole group. is a heavy bed of dark 
blue changing to a dirty yellow clay, containing clusters of small 
crystals of gypsum in great profusion. It stretches from the Angelina 
southward to the Neches, on the south side of which it is seen passing 
under the gray sandstones of the succeeding group. Where it disap- 
pears this bed is thirty-five feet thick. 

The basal deposit of this group is a dark blue laminated clay, in the 
neighborhood of Alto, while in Houston county it consists of a dark 
blue laminated sandy clay, with partings of brown sand, and contain- 
ing numerous crystals of selenite. In both cases the clays rest, so far 


60 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


as can be seen in the sections obtained, directly but unconformably 
upon beds containing Eocene fossils. Whether these beds are the 
equivalents of each other can not, with the knowledge at present avail- 
able, be accurately determined. Their connection may possibly be 
found in Trinity and the northern part of Polk county, but in the 
absence of any examinations in these counties nothing definite can be 
stated. 
Another series of deposits which may belong to this group is a set 

of beds found in the valley to the south of New Birmingham and 
Rusk, in Cherokee county. These consist of several beds of thinly 
laminated gray and black sands and gray clay, a section at J. D. 
Baker’s brickyard giving: 
1. Brown sand and gravel with small pieces of gravel andiron . . 2 to 3 feet. 
2. Alternate strata of purplish gray clay and gray sand, the clay 

in strata of from six inches to one inch, and in places two 

feet, and the sand from one to six inches. Numerous frag- 

ments of-leaves occur in this) clayq lie sown een 8 feet. 


o. Surpie clay.containing fragoments of leavesy = 0 a iia 6 inches. 
a White sand to bottom of pit. is;).. [ep meee tee eee eee ae 2 feet. 


These beds do not belong to the Eocene deposits found throughout 
the higher ground of the country, and may not belong to the group of 
beds under consideration. They are probably of estuarine or perhaps 
fresh water origin, but beyond their existence nothing is yet positively 
known, and they have only been placed in this group tentatively on 
account of their overlying the Eocene beds in their neighborhood. 

Another circumstance which adds to the difficulty of ascertaining 
the exact geological structure or position of these deposits is the great 
want of conformity between them and the underlying Eocene beds. 
Everywhere, where examined, this unconformability is so strong that 
one is led to the almost unavoidable conclusion that the Eocene had 
been subjected to a long continued and great erosion before the over- 
lying clays and sands were deposited. 


FAYETTE SANDS. 


A region of country, extending from the south side of the Neches 
southward to and beyond Corrigan, and eastward along the Neches as 
far as Rockland, is occupied by a series of gray sands, sandstones and 
gray and white clays. ‘Toward the west the sandstones forming the 
northern boundary of the beds are found near Pennington, in Trinity 
county, on White Rock creek on the southern line of Houston county, 
and outlying portions appeat near Weldon, in the same county. The 
southern line extends from the Neches, several miles south of Rock- 
land, westward to and beyond the Trinity, outcrops being found near 
Summit, in Tyler, Stryker, in Polk, and at Phelps, in Walker county. 

Throughout the area the surface of the country is covered chiefly 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 61 


_ by acoarse gray sand. The greater proportion of the deposits, where 
seen, consists of gray sandstones interstratified with gray clays and 
gray sands, the last containing considerable quantities of opalized 
wood. A gray sandstone, containing fossil leaves as yet undeter- 
mined, occurs about one mile north of Corrigan, and the upper beds of 
the southern standstones, near Bowers, contain numerous casts of 
palm leaves, reeds, etc. Some of the palm leaves are of great size, 
fragments measuring from three to four feet across being of frequent 
occurrence. | 

Three miles north of Corrigan, on the line of the Houston, East and 
West Texas Railway, a deposit of white limestone occurs, containing 
casts of shells. The fossils found here have been referred to the Ko- 
cene by Dr. Dall, on the strength of the existence of the cast of what 
appears to he a Cardita planicosta. 

The thickness of these sandstones and clays, as shown by the sec- 
tions, are approximately one hundred and fifty feet. Near Rockland, 
they have a thickness of two hundred feet; on the Neches, at Clark’s 
Ferry crossing, thirty feet; the exposures on McManus creek, and other 
places near Stryker, are over one hundred feet; in Hitchcock’s quarry, 
near Corrigan, twenty feet; and westward, at Riverside, on the Trinity, 
they appear to have a thickness of over one hundred feet in the river 
bluffs. 

The internal structure of the area, and the actual development of 
the beds, are not known beyond the few details gathered along the 
immediate line of the section, which are given in the succeeding pages. 

These beds have been referred to the Grand Gulf (Miocene) of Hil- 
gard by Dr. Loughridge,* and denominated the Fayette beds by Dr. 
Penrose,f and reported as passing clear across the State. In the Sec- 
ond Report of Progress these sandstones have tentatively been placed 
in the Miocene. The general section across these beds is as follows: 

General section from Angelina river, in Angelina county, south, to 
Corrigan, in Polk county: 

Peer CURTSOIS TAY SAL Gis ste gk oo ay Ile Ge Rema Vek del 50 feet. 
Peevaniinatea bideand. white Sand s/n.) i aia ek 15 feet. 
3. Brownish gray to yellow sandstone, gradually losing its brown tint 

as it nears the base. The upper brown division is thinly lami- 

nated and contains plant impressions and nodules of pure clay. 


The lower gray division contains clay nodules, but no plants, 
four feet in railway cut, but fifteen feet in Hitchcock’s quarry . . 20 feet. 


Peery PACTIC na cee logs eute et eh Brees to take ac, Oty Bese sie 22 feet. 
5. White limestone containing casts of Venericardia planicosta(?) and 

sal eT TEES BE OT SE 6 Sl alien Sake? a a Nt OO Bae cae a 2 feet. 
Gaindurated @tay sand orsoft saridstones. fo. 8 ale 4 feet. 


7. Unknown, probably gray sandsand sandstones ......... 


* Cotton Production of the Southern States, U. S. Census, Vol. 4, p. 21. 
+ First Annual Report Geological Survey of Texas, p. 47. 


62 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


S.naGray Cross-bedded sands .).. \., ..<) SSgemRweee ea cnt ne 35 feet. 


9. Gray sands with quantities of opalized wood .......... 25 feet. 
i? atsinated pink clay. ....... .:::h Ja) eee te aka 6 feet. 
EPeeotaydAaminated-sand . -. -.-. 3) .1 geen ey ba ne . be ae Seems 
iZeteray cand stained brown .”-.> sy) eie ee) tno ae lh ore 1 foot. 
tore chiniy stratified gray sand Seg we es ee) 1 foot. 
Poe Acray, sandy’ clay . .° . =. :\\S) CUP ie ce ese o feet 
aoe Gray-sandstone~ . . ..... do). umemenint nn Ate hes, ore 2 on 3 feet. 
1bseShaly gray. clay ..,..~+: Vga etek en een rs: © al a 1 foot. 
ew doray and yellow sand .. «che Meee ct noe cee eee 3 feet. 
13). Light. yellow or cream colored Clay 35.) Ss. S7 ene eee 2 feet. 
19;%Chinly laminated: gray, SsandstOme/y 7, oh tan) Gi eee ee ee 3 feet. 
20... Brown laminatad clay :.°.0 2 29a Nha OAS create as ean ae 3 feet. 
21. Thinly stratified white and gray sandstone ........... 1 foot. 
22.) Gray sandstone stained brown #20" ae en 3 feet. 


23. Thinly stratified or laminated blue clay with gypsum in crystals . 36 feet. 
FLEMING BEDS. 

Succeeding the gray sandstones, sands, and gray or white clays of 
the Fayette beds, there comes a series of clays and sands or sandy 
clays. 

These deposits are best seen in the neighborhood of Fleming, where, 
a little west of the station, the Trinity and Sabine Railway line passes 
over a high hill made up entirely of these deposits. ‘The same clays 
also occur in a cut on the line of the Southern Pacific Railway about a 
mile and a half north of Summit station, in Tyler county. How far 
south these clays and sands extend is not yet known, but in this region 
the prevailing blue limy clay occurs near Woodville, ten miles south 
of Colmesneil. This would give that bed a width of at least twelve 
miles. ‘The clays are dark blue, pale blue, brown, red, yellow, and 
pale green in color. ‘They occur thinly laminated, or partially strati- 
fied, and massive, and have a strong tendency to joint or break into 
cuboidal blocks with a conchoidal fracture. The most important bed 
of clay in this group is a blue clay, partially stratified, but showing a 
tendency to break up into blocks, and containing numerous concretions 
of carbonate of lime. This clay is perfectly smooth in texture and 
graduates into the underlying bed of red clay without any break ex- 
cept that of color, and the absence of the limy concretions, which 
apparently do not occur in the red clay. At least where the beds were 
examined none were found. ‘The red clay is in every other respect 
similar to the blue. 

Pale green, pale blue and brown clays are found overlying the blue 
limy clays at the different exposures, but occur most abundantly to 
the north of Summit station. These colors are not so persistent as the 
blue, and are probably due to some local cause. | 

These clays are probably the same as those found by Dr. Penrose 
and described by him as belonging to the Fayette beds of his Colorado, 
Brazos and Rio Grande river sections. 


os 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 63 


These clays in this portion of the State are overlaid by and associated 
with a series of gray sands, which are mostly coarse grained, some- 
times massive, and in localities cross-bedded and stratified. The typical 
exposure seen at Fleming shows them to be gray stratified sand con- 
taining fossil palm in great quantities, with numerous quartz, jasper 
and other pebbles, and to have at that locality a thickness of twenty 
feet. 

The southern limit of these sands and clays is not yet accurately 


known, but they appear to be succeeded bythe dark blue clays of the 


Recent, and their estimated thickness is close to two hundred and sixty 
feet. 


General section from Corrigan, in Polk county, eastward, to Colmes- 
neil, in Tyler county: 


MEDTONVGRMULIACE SANUS psd te) perm AM yee eel Brg et eke 8 feet. 
2. Lenticular deposit of blue clayincutnear Colmesneil. ..... 2 feet. 
PemELOpIIertiC. w beet Mot airy. SO PSC a A ee aes * 10° feet. 
Meee ONSEOEAN eC Cre y sgh yt. (Mh Mayors. fe CoO de ek 50 feet. 
PREMERA Cla ei Watt ts ve ae ogists. ac Aas: edie Boss dee 15 feet. 
6. Gray stratified sand containing fossil palm wood in great eat 

ties, with numerous quartz, jasperand other pebbles... . 20 feet. 


7. Blue clay, partially stratified, but showing a tendency to brea up 


into conchoidal blocks,and containing numerous limy concre- 


DOUG eee eee pare ee sa er ene ee ee . 140 feet. 
8. Red clay, having same structure as No. 7, but ‘iehout. fatale con- 

eRe). COWES Natya’ | A cabin at ene Rea eae Sho JP ep hee aa ar ee eee 20 feet. 
RESCH CONSE TEAM Gomi el lon yee cs fo yet sapere ce etie 8 4 feet. 
RNP AY SAMUS OMG IE foe set aie tink Py eee fe Reiger ss) an, OU Teats 
iieecisrayuaiimiated Sandor clayey sand 2/00... 2 wk ... 40 feet. 
ee SPAY SANGSUONEM elute g oo) ous ee 4s Meee Rat Fe ue o's 140 feet. 
SRP GRAN CECH Cg a Cage Wee RSIS I Tal el A ea Ae 2: feet. 


14, Blue clay, containing gypsum crystalsin pockets ........ 


General section from Rockland, on the Neches river, in Tyler county, 
south, to Sabine Pass. 


Se RROD come igh 8 2k. MEAS ok co ayo) tbe big) ne ees 12 feet. 
Pt Cee a OAs Laie a ee are) dees Re Nea Vals nee ees 
8. Jaminated blue clays, extending from Village creek, southward to 

Grigsby’s Bluff, thence to coast, forming sea bottom atseven feet 100 feet. 
4, Brown and gray sands, enclosing pebbles of iron and siliceous 


. rocks, forming the surface as faras Hyatt ........54..- 60 feet. 
5. Laminated or thinly stratified brown sand with white streaks . . 30 feet. 
6. Mottled brown with pink shade running throughthesand ... 12 feet. 
7. Mottled blue and brown clay, pale watery green clay, pale brown 

and blue clays, seen together alongsmall cut northofSummit. . 70 feet. 

Sy olne clay containing limy comucretions °...5 2... le ee 90 feet. 
9; Yellow sand, seen in well at Woodville... 2. .6.. eee. 14 feet. 
Leet aC OPeH AAT VICkRY ee ri. FoF [ia sd stile ky we ed ppb. elle Hey 28 30 feet. 


11. Gray sandstone, white near surface, but Prat darker towards 
DASE WHeLe tt 15.0 Pale OlUE.. eet ee kw Bp Aon eee aie ee 270 feet. 


64 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


PLEISTOCENE. 


The general facies of the Quaternary deposits are orange, brown, red, 
yellow and gray sands and loams, with occasional deposits of red and 
yellow clays and silts toward the north, and blue massive and laminated 
clay in the southeastern part of the State; ferruginous and siliceous 
gravel; soft, much broken deposits of ferruginous sandstone; broken 
monolithic bowlders of brown, white and gray sandstone; gravelly and 
ferruginous conglomerate, and highly siliceous iron ore. The maximum 
thickness of these deposits has been placed at ninety feet, but this thick- 
ness exists at only a few places. Asa general rule, the deposits here 
classed as of Quaternary age are thinly and irregularly deposited, and 
rarely exceed'ten feet in thickness. 


Fig. 3. 
Section showing irregular deposition of sand and gravel, mile post 40, T. S. 


E. Ry., Cherokee county Texas. . 
1. Brown sand. 2.° Mottled sand. 3. Stratified sand. 4. Pockets of gravel. 


Structurally, these Quaternary sands and gravels show a very irreg- 
ular deposition, subjected to a variety of vicissitudes In places they 
present a stratified or quasi-stratified appearance, with regular lines of 
deposition for short distances, but which soon become broken and irreg- 
ular. The great mass of the deposits, however, do not present any uni- 
form mode of deposition, but appear as a heterogeneous mass, through 
which the ferruginous and siliceous pebbles and fine gravels are distrib- 
uted promiscuously. At places the gravels are deposited in the form of 
thin strata, extending for many yards and ending abruptly in a deep 
rounded pothole which they completely fill. Where the iron ore depos- 
its occur the coarser gravels and pebbles show large quantities of ferru- 
ginous material, but away from these points the siliceous pebbles and 
gravels form the prevailing characteristics of the deposit. 

In areal distribution it extends from the State line westward to and 
beyond the Trinity, and from the northern boundary of the Tertiary 
area to the coast. Ferruginous sands and gravels and siliceous pebbles 
are found everywhere, capping the highest hills as well as extensive 
areas of the low lands. In thickness they are very irregular, in some 
places reaching a maximum of sixty feet, at others not exceeding ten 
feet, while over wide areas they are extremely thin or do not occur at 
all. ‘They occur but rarely in the region in which the Basal Clays are 
found, and their southern limit appears to be near the southern margin 
of the Fayette beds. Throughout the southern portion of the region 
occupied by them they appear as outliers or fragmental remains of an 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 65 


extensive deposit once reaching still further south. The most southerly 
point at which they have as yet been seen is near Hillester, in Tyler 
county, within sixty miles of the coast marshes. The section at this place 
presents a series of yellow, mottled, pink and white, brown and pink 
sands, with great quantities of ferruginous pebbles scattered throughout 
the lower division. Ten miles farther south the siliceous pebbles have 
disappeared, and the last of the ferruginous gravels are seen about a 
mile north of Hyatt. ‘The yellowish brown sandy loam continues as 
far south as Village creek, where it disappears under a heavy deposit of 
pale blue laminated clay. ‘Toward the west, along the east side of the 
Trinity river, the éravels and sands appear plentifully in Trinity, Hous- 
ton and Anderson counties. In this region they present the feature of 
being laid down in long narrow belts extending from the northwest to 
the southeast. 

The gravels belonging to this formation are made up chiefly of fer- 
ruginous sandstones and flint, quartz and other siliceous rock. While 
the greater proportion of them are of white quartz, sometimes perfectly 
translucent, but oftener stained brown or yellow, many pebbles of dark 
blue laminated paleozoic rocks occur, and here and there amongst them 
are found mottled gray and black pebbles and rocks belonging to the 
quartzitic group. Most of the siliceous pebbles are rounded and water 
worn. Some few of them are subangular in form, and appear to be 
fragments of much larger bowlders which had been removed before 
being broken: Pebbles of silicified wood also occur in great quantities, 
many of them rounded and perfectly smooth, others flat, smooth sided, 
from six inches to over a foot in length, and from half an inch to two 
inches thick. ‘These have their angles scarcely rounded, and present 
a general appearance of having traveled only a short distance. 

The conglomerates belonging to these deposits are altogether made 
up of ferruginous sands and gravels and siliceous pebbles cemented 
together by a solution of iron. They have no definite lines of occur- 
rence, but are found usually, if not altogether, in the neighborhood of 
the streams. The main deposits are always associated with water, and 
are either close to the high water line or within a few feet of it, and 
probably had their initial formation with the beginning of the present 
system of drainage. “The older conglomerates are always higher up 
the side of the hill, and are much harder than the new, so much so, 
-that while the siliceous pebbles in the newer deposits are easily de- 
tached from their matrix, they can only be extracted from the older 
with great difficulty, and break much more readily than they can be 
detached. 

Conglomerates of both these characters occur throughout almost 
every county east of the Trinity, and as far south as Colmesneil, in 
Tyler county. In Cass, Marion, Harrison, Gregg, Cherokee and 


66 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


Houston counties they are extensively developed, and in fact are found 
more or less throughout the whole of the iron region of East Texas. 

Along the Trinity river, in Houston county, the conglomerate is 
made up chiefly of brown sands, siliceous gravels, broken nodules of 
iron ore and fragments of a ferruginated fossil wood, and underlies a 
series of dark gray silty loam, and in structure is much less compact 
than the conglomerates further north and east. 

Another grade of conglomerate occurs in small, scattered, isolated 
‘patches crowning the gray sandstone near Bowers and Stryker, in Polk 
county. ‘This is made up of an association of small grains of translu- 
cent or milk white quartz firmly cemented together by a siliceous 
matrix. 

In addition to the pebbles and fragments of silicified wood found in 
association with the gravels of this formation, great quantities of the 
same character of wood are found scattered through the sand in almost 
every. portion of the country. Some of these pieces are of great size, 
ranging in length from four to ten feet, and frequently from six to 
eighteen inches in diameter. These woods present a variety of struc- 
ture and color. In most cases they are gray or brownish gray, and 
many of the brown blocks have black streaks running through them. 
Pieces showing these colors have their general woody structure still 
visible, and from their general occurrence throughout the gray sands, 
upon which grows a dense growth of postoak and blackjack, and the 
general resemblance of the silicified pieces to these woods, have given 
rise to the opinion prevailing among the people that these fossil woods 
are of the same class of timber. : 

Fossil wood also occurs in the lignite beds and sand. In these, how- 
ever, the structure of the wood is mostly destroyed, and the color, even 
when perfectly silicified, is always a black or a very dark blue. 

With the exception of the silicified wood in the gray and brown 
sand, no fossils of any kind have yet been found. 

The origin of the gravels has not been determined, but it is more 
than probable that the greater portion of them are of comparatively 
local derivation, having originated in some of the paleozoic rocks, occu- 
pying the country towards the north and east. Any of more distant 
origin have evidently came into the region by: a process of reassort- 
ment due to the action of the water. 

In the southern portion of the State, through Hardin county, the 
Quaternary appears to be represented by a series of dark blue, massive, 
laminated clays, of which, however, very little is yet known. They 
are first seen on the south side of Village creek, in Hardin county, and 
extend southward as far Grigsby’s bluff, when they are lost under the 
coast marshes. ‘They also occur along the coast around the entrance 
of Sabine lake, forming the sea bottom. 

The clays are usually dark blue in color, but in places are massive 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 67 


and a light blue with slightly yellow shade. In most places they ap- 
pear as laminated, or thinly stratified. Towards their northern end, 
however, and in the neighborhood of Concord, on Pine Island bayou, 
they appear as massive. Owing to the prairie-like region embraced 
by these deposits, and the few breaks found anywhere within their 
area, no good sections are obtainable. The streams where any do 
exist are usually bordered by marshy land, and even there no oppor- 
tunity is afforded to see much, if anything, of their structure. They 
have been classed as of Quaternary age, and probably may be cor- 
related to the Port Hudson of Hilgard. ‘Their thickness will probably 
not exceed one hundred feet. 


RECENT DEPOSITS. 


Deposits of Recent material are extensively distributed throughout the 
whole of East Texas. Most of the rivers and their larger tributary 
streams are subject to extreme variations between high and low water 
marks. Asa result, there are extensive areas of overflow lands every- 
where along the water-courses. Occasional bluffs occur of sufficient 
elevation to stand above the high-water mark, but in many places the 
overflows reach depths varying from a few feet to twenty-five or thirty 
feet, and in some extreme instances the water has risen to forty-five 
fest: 

In addition tothe Recent deposits of the flood plains of the rivers and 
creeks, the low lying coastal ‘plain bordering the inlets of Sabine lake 
and Galveston bay and other portions of the Gulf coast is altogether of 
Recent origin. 

A third series of Recent deposits are to be found in the numerous 
lacustrine formations occurring at many places. These deposits are, how- 
ever, generally of small extent areally, and so far as our present knowl- 
edge goes, badly defined. In places they are represented by small marshy 
deposits, and at others by small prairie-like spots, deriving the material 
for their formation from the surrounding area belonging to the older 
deposits. 

Areally, the only deposits of Recent origin of which any real or accu- 
rate knowledge is at present available are the flood plains of the rivers 
and creeks or bayous and the great coastal plain, and to these only has 
any direct attention been paid. 


FLOOD PLAINS OF RIVERS. 


Nearly every river and large stream, as well as many of the minor 
tributaries, are bordered along each bank by extensive flood plains, or 
lands subject to periodical overflows. A characteristic common to most 
of the rivers, where broad flood plains exist, is the tendency of the main 
streams to change their courses, sometimes rapidly and in other cases 


very slowly. 
} 


68 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. . 


Where cut-offs occur, the old course of the river can readily be traced 
by a line of deep pools connected by shallow marshy places. Instances 
of this class occur on the south side of Sulphur Fork, in the northern 
portion of Cass county, and along the Sabine river through the southern 
portion of Harrison county, as well as at other places throughout the 
region drained by these streams. The Sabine appears to have had many 
changes of this character within a comparatively recent period. Where 
the Texas and Pacific Railway crosses, on the west side of Wood county, | 
a well defined channel appears running parallel to the present course of 
the river, with which it is connected at its northern end by a series of 
small pools or lakes lying within the limit of the flood plain; and near 
the crossing of the Mineola division of. the International and Great 
Northern Railroad, another chain of small marshy pools, lying nearly 
a mile and a half north of the present channel, again marks the old 
course of the stream. 

Of the slower changes of the stream courses the only evidences 
noticeable are the general destruction and disintegration of the lower 
deposits, while the upper beds, still subject to overflow, present the 
laminated appearance found everywhere. Extended areas of this class 
of deposits occur along the Sulphur, Sabine, Neches, Angelina and 
Trinity rivers. 

At the crossing of the Sabine by the Texas and Pacific Railway, 
near Silver lake, the flood plain of the river is nearly half a mile wide, 
and where the Mineola branch of the International and Great Northern 
Railroad crosses, the flood plain lying north of the river is over two 
miles in width. In Gregg county the width of the overflow lands is 
contracted to small areas lying alternately on each side of the river. 
In Harrison county the flood plain again widens out and covers an 
area of nearly a mile in width across the greater portion of the county. 
Where the Houston, East and West Texas Railroad crosses the Neches, 
the flood plain is nearly a mile and a half wide, and north of this, on 
the same railroad, at the crossing of the Angelina, there is another 
extensive erea. Along the Neches river, on the western portion of 
Henderson county, there is an extensive area covered by Recent de- 
posits, and throughout Houston county the Trinity river, in wet 
seasons, overflows its banks in many places to a width of several miles. 
Along the smaller bayous and creeks tributary to these larger streams 
the same conditions exist. 


COASTAL PRAIRIES OR PLAINS. 


The Gulf coast along East Texas is occupied by an extensive prairie 
or plain, in many places cut by bayous and occupied by extensive 
marshes, and in no place except the region of High Islands, about fif- . 
teen miles east of the eastern extremity of East bay, elevated more 


GENERAL DESCRIPTION. 69 


than a few feet above the level of the waters of the Gulf and Sabine 
lake. | 

‘From the head of East bay to High Islands the land is low wet 
prairie, covered with ponds, and in many places impassable for wagons. 
The High Islands are the only high lands on the Gulf coast between 
Galveston and Sabine, and probably the highest on the coast of Texas. 
Their elevation is eighty to one hundred and fifty feet above high 
water, and their area about two thousand acres. The central point of 
the islands is about a mile and quarter from the Gulf shore. 

‘“‘From the High Islands to the Sabine all is prairie, in some places 
impassable marsh to a breadth of seven miles in the wet season, small 
bayous running through in various directions and entering the lake or 
ponds. Firm land at all seasons can not be found short of from six to 
nine miles from the coast, and in many places not short of fifteen or 
twenty miles. 

“In very violent southerly winds nearly all the prairie for some dis- 
tance back to the shore is covered by water from the Gulf.’’* 

Beginning near Beaumont, in Jefferson county, a belt of Recent ma- 
terial nearly a mile wide, mostly marsh and subject to overflow, extends 
southward along the west bank of Snow river as far as Grigsby’s bluff, 
- where it broadens out along both sides of the river. From Grigsby’s 
bluff this belt of low land widens westward, its approximate line of 
contact with the underlying blue clay being a line running westward 
and southward crossing Hillebrand’s bayou near the junction of Point 
bayou on the C. Hillebrand headright. 

The country lying between this boundary line and the Gulf coast 
presents most of the features described by Bell as given above. It is 
low and flat, much cut up by bayous and ponds, with numerous marshes, 
and in many places absolutely impassable for wagons. It is altogether 
devoid of trees, and is covered throughout its. greatest extent by a 
heavy growth of coarse marsh grasses. 

Taylor’s bayou, with its tributaries, Mayhew bayou, North fork of 
Taylor, and Bayou Din, and Double Point, Hillebrand and Beddie’s 
bayous form the principal water courses along the northern and central 
portion, and Texas bayou in the extreme southeastern section. 

From the nature of the country no sections could be obtained in any 
portion. Its structure appears, from a surface examination, to be chiefly 
a sandy ridge along the Gulf coast, slightly elevated above the back 
country, which, as already stated, is to a great extent made up of or 
covered by marsh. ‘The depth of this marsh is probably not very 
great, and may only be a surface formation resting upon the dark blue 
clay outcropping near Spindle Top, about four miles south of Beau- 
mont. ‘These blue clays, according to the observations of the United 
States Coast Survey, appear in Sabine pass and along the Gulf coast 


*Lieutenant GeorgeBell, United States Coast Survey, 1861, p. 264. 


70 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


at a depth of only six or seven feet, and are also found about two and a 
half miles north of the entrance to the Pass at a depth of twelve feet.* 
From Beaumont to Sabine Pass the distance is about thirty miles, 
and these clays disappear about six miles south of Beaumont, or at an 
elevation of about twenty feet above tide level. This would give the 
clay, assuming the upper bed at both places to be the same, a dip of 
about one foot per mile, and give the marsh an average thickness of 
twelve feet. ; 
’ Grigsby’s bluff forms a prominent feature along the Neches river, 
about four miles north of the entrance of the stream in the Sabine 
Lake. ‘The bluff itself is made up chiefly of Recent material. It is 
about one hundred and fifty yards long and from ten to fifteen feet 
high. ‘The main feature is the presence of shells of the Gnathadon 
cuneatus in vast quantities, mingled with vegetable molds, and having 
a few scattering shells of an oyster associated with the Gnathadon 
forms. Similar shells and moulds occur at several other places along 
' the Neches as far up as Beaumont. 


LACUSTRINE FORMATIONS. . 


Scattered through this portion of the State numerous sinall prairie- 
like spots occur. ‘They usually lie in depressions, and have the appear- 
ance of having been marshy lands which have been filled up by the 
washings of the surrounding higher ground within comparatively 
recent times. The gravel and other deposit belonging to the drift for- 
mation are usually absent in these locations, or if present at all are 
covered by a heavy deposit of dark gray sand or. silty loam, and are 
always secondary in importance to the overlying material. 

These prairies are for the greater part treeless, but within recent 
years long narrow strips of woodland have begun to stretch their finger 
like shapes far into and in places quite across the prairie, and the sur- 
rounding timber is also gradually narrowing the limits of the treeless 
space. ; 

These deposits have not yet been studied, and with the exception of 
those found in Houston county, and described in the report on that 
region, nothing accurate is known about them. 


* United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1883, p. 176, sketch 1” in same vol- 
ume. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. TL 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 


The line of section has been separated into six divisions correspond- 
ing to the different railways along which it extends. 


1. FROM TERRELL TO MINEOLA, ALONG THE TEXAS AND PACIFIC 
RAILWAY. 


This line of sections runs in a nearly east and west course, while the 
dip of the various beds passed across are within a few degrees of south- 
east. 

From Terrell eastward, to within a few miles of the village of Elmo, 
the country is comparatively level and covered with the yellow clayey 
marls of the Ponderosa beds of the Upper Cretaceous. ; 

At mile post 186, or three and one-half miles east of Terrell, the 
marls are overlaid by a series of thinly laminated dark blue or almost 
black sandy clays and sands, containing in many places small broken 
Tertiary fossils. ‘These are altogether bivalves, and are in such a condi- 
tion that it is difficult to recognize them. No fossils occur close to the 
line of contact, but are found in a cut one mile further east, where they 
are associated with a thin line of small calcareous nodules. 

The clays are overlaid by a deposit of brownish gray sands containing 
numerous calcareous bowlders mixed through the sands, and which are 
occasionally fossiliferous, containing fragments of gasteropods. 

A cut on the railway at the line of contact shows the following sec- 
tion: 

1. Brownish gray sands containing bowlders of limestone with thin 
seams of crystalline calcite and occasional broken gasteropod 


EMG Ma treae eeie rare ee Uy to selw ght te ce diets iw \iba lee sole kee 25 feet. 
2. Thinly laminated dark blue clays with broken bivalve shells in + 
places and occasional nodules of siliceous limestone. .... . 30 feet. 


SEE OWN OMOCTORA IIRC oy la. Joie kis iy hacer itp 2Pat ge ease oe 

Going eastward from this place to Elmo the gray sands and clays of 
the above section are seen near Muddy Cedarcreek. Halfa mile north 
of the road the same class of calcareous bowlders are found forming the 
bed of the creek, and the same dark clays form the base of the material 
seen on Walnut creek half a mile east of Elmo station, at which place 
they are overlaid by a grayish brown sand enclosing bowlders of lime- 
stone of the same character as those found in the sands west of Elmo. 

About a half mile northwest of Elmo station there is a hill a section of 
which gives: 


Peet OWSat TL hoa ht of 8a 8 SR CEC EG tgs PURO He Oite, oene  e 4 feet. 
2. White limestone containing 7urritelia, Cardita planicosta, Cardium 

SESH E LO O85 ¢ 903) 6 2 ARES OLED RS SR eS SE Aes a Ain es gee 6 feet. 
SEE RC ENNEA Aes CIERRA EG ket tes ody oi C Pally Ma ied, Gere bey wie lelen eV el ws 2 feet. 
4, White limestone containing shells same as No. 2........,. 2 feet. 


Hee EAINIt STAY GANGA yO es Sg ee fe ae ok SHER RS ote oR 8 feet. 


12 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


A short distance east, the limestone is covered by a yellow sand. 

This is the first occurrence of the white Turritella limestone in the 
area, and its position, as will be seen from the above section, is not as 
has hitherto been supposed at the base of the Tertiary deposits in this 
portion of the State, but at least fifty feet above the base. 

Four miles east of this section a tank at Cobb’s switch shows a sec- 
tion of: 
ievprowilish'yellow sand: \.! . 2 caann a pee) 'e hoe ic nae eee 12 feet. 
2. White limestone, with brown sandy parting .........4.7%. 10 feet. 
2. Gray sand to bottom . .. . (setae eee ah ee ee ae 

One mile east of Cobb’s switch the white limestone occurs in the bot- 
tom of Rocky Cedar creek, and at the crossing of the public road to 
Wills Point, about a mile south of the line, the limestone is twenty feet 
in thickness. 

In speaking of this locality, Mr. R. T. Hill says (Vol. 2, Geological 
Survey of Arkansas, 1888, page 56): ‘“‘A similar non-conformity between 
the Basal Tertiary and the Upper Cretaceous is also well shown four 
miles east of Elmo in Texas,.’’ Mr. Hill is probably mistaken in his 
locality, as at Rocky Cedar, four miles east of Elmo, the Tertiary de- 
posits are at least fifty feet thick. The bed exposed in the creek, for 
nearly two miles north of the railway and about a mile south of the same 
place, is the white Turritella limestone, and is over twenty feet in thick- 
ness, of which the upper surface only is seen near the railway and public 
road crossing. 

From this it will be seen that these limestone deposits have a tendency 
to thicken towards the southeast. Whether they reach their maximum 
thickness a little east of Rocky Cedar is not known, but apparently they 
thin out after passing this point, as the limestone was not seen in a well 
bored two hundred feet deep in Wills Point, five miles further east. 

From Rocky Cedar, going east, the line of section extends across a 
series of yellow laminated clays and clayey sands, having a uniform 
southeasterly dip of from two to five degrees. These clays close to 
Wills Point contain occasional calcareous bowlders and nodules, which 
become more plentiful toward the south and southwest. They occur 
half a mile south of Wills Point, on the Goshen road, and also four 
miles southwest on the Allen headright on the south side of Allen creek, 
where they lie imbedded in a yellow stratified clay, which clay forms a 
subsoil and underlies the prairie as far east as mile post 171, or three 
miles east of Wills Point. 

From the contact of the laminated blue clays with the Ponderosa — 
marls, three miles west of Elmo, to the point of the disappearance of 
the yellow clay, three miles east of Wills Point, the width area embraced 
by the Basal Clays of the Tertiary deposits in this portion of the State 
is fifteen miles, and the complete section of these clays and sands show 
them to have a total thickness of two hundred and sixty-two feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. le 


The country which they occupy is characterized by extensive prairies 
interspersed with small patches of timber, mostly post oak and black 
jack with a few black ash and sycamores along the creeks. 

Near mile post 171 the character of the beds change from clay to gray 
and brown sand, and four hundred feet west of the mile post the over- 

‘lying deposits are sandy clays and sand containing great quantities of 
ferruginous sandstone nodules, and sixteen hundred feet east of the mile 
post a section gives: 


1. Coffee colored sandy soil mixed with ferruginous pebbles... . . 3 feet. 
PEER US WEERUNL YT CLAY Pec ete 2) ase Be So, We eee ete ac atest Me 2 feet. 
3. Ferruginous sandstone, with small lenticular nodules of clay iron- 

Pa AU NE Tat sey Ph seus EN SU! . UEwing oF Se Ras eob ol ua c's ny ie 6 inches. 
Pe ocly laminated yellow sand .- 40.0.0.) Oo OR ea 4 feet. 


These beds dip southeast at an angle of two to three degrees. This 
change in the deposits is marked by the first occurrence of timber in any 
extensive body. 

Going eastward, towards Edgewood, the overlying sands thicken rap- 
idly. Near mile post 168 a section of the cut shows: 

SUELO WISAIICLD Si ater RO eda Sal ak Ltr Cl ho le hel Ce wk . 12 teet. 
2, stine grained yellow.clayey sand, visible... 2... 0). . 00.0... 2 feet. 

Near the east end of the cut the sand has been eroded, and a de- 
posit of coarse sand or gravel occurs in the shape of a pothole fifty 
feet long and from one to eight feet in thickness. ‘This cut lies on the 
west side of a creek having a bottom or flood plain three thousand feet 
wide. 

The sand on the east side of the creek shows a thickness of fourteen 
feet, and at Edgewood station a cut shows sixteen feet. Wells dug in 
the vicinity of Edgewood, however, give this sand a much greater thick- 
ness. A well close to the station gives the following section: 
Roe S AIG) Pts Ser ON ee No obo TV ee aelh et eich) ey Wyn Vetoes a) 6, Leite 16 feet. 
IMI TTCL Gee at tg aa ee Be om og ee faethe Lei ee AE Ae Oa DA 40 feet. 

Another well near this place struck lignite at thirty feet, and a well 
dug about a mile east of the station gave the following: 


SRC IATIC (OI TEsG ATIC; 45°23)o0 ORD chearc ie ek RT. FE es . 40 feet. 
oe 2 Oe ee Aer Sic Sane ek en ee 4 feet. 
TIC O LOLS OUP SLAGCCL a1. chic. ai aemhc ae Rt & Pils beget op se) be ese get ces 36 feet. 


Going eastward, from Edgewood, the yellow sands continue to form 
the surface deposits. A few fragments of silicified wood and nodules 
of iron ore occur near Stevenson switch, and eastward of this place 
there is a small deposit of rounded and water worn gray sandstone 
enclosed in a deposit of gray sandy clay. The gray clay is replaced, 
six hundred feet toward the east, by brown sand more than twenty feet 
in thickness. Near mile post 165 the railway passes through a cut 
showing a section of: 


Yau SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


Foye ehh. 8 cl a eres he NA OMT a 1 foot. 
Time BLOWA YSATIC, OS. 3. eo 2 a ee a, 2- feet. 
4;,) Gray sand: stained brown on ‘the/outeideta.. 9s. . . 2) ere 12 feet. 
4, Blue clay, seen at the west end of the section... ........ ° ty See 


The dip of the underlying clay in this section is south of east a few 
degrees, and between the brown sand, No. 2, and the gray sand, No. 
3 of the section, there occur a few bowlders of ferruginous sandstone 
and a small quantity of iron ore. 


At the eastern end of this cut the deposits underlying this blue clay > 


are shown in the following section: 


4) 4Blue.clay,-as above. <c.%i5 Cys he Sethe ee liao eee EE eer 
Bree Yellow, Sand: 0.0.5 oC gerade eo a 2 feet. 
64> Fertuginuus sandstone °.°). 7s. Ga ties ye ae eee eee 2 feet. 
7. Stratified blue clay, containing small particles of lignitic matter di- 
vided by a thin yellow sandy parting, visible. .......... 2 feet. 
About.a mile further east the cut gives the following section: 
Pee OUTLACE SOT 3.8 ke ces is) 8 Ne pele Pete ie eee 1 foot. 
2. Brown sand with ferruginous gravel © suc s0 een 23 to 3 feet. 
So. . Laminated bluish sand and ‘clay 9y.g2s- 26 eee 2) feet. 
4, Same as No. 3, but containing deposits of gravel .. . 13 feet. 
5. Laminated sand and clay, the sand light grayish blue, ae 
dark. Dlwe oo tay pe am ie cer 6. feet 
Os Gray-cross-bedded sand | *. 44s .5 sen ok ee . .» 1} to 24 feet: 
7. J,aminated blue clay with sandy paitings. .... Pup Ne 13 feet. 
Sv binish cray sand i...) LOSS ee 23 feet. 


The general dip of these beds is southeast two degrees. 
Crossing Crooked creek, a hill to the east of the creek shows a sec- 
tion of: 


MP ePPSUITIACE SOL. Saou. gee ss ye 7S) pena Goce het Saree oe a 1 foot. 
2. Reddish brown sand, becoming cross-bedded a short distance east. . 10 feet. 
3. Massive unstratified yellowish gray sands, nearly white in places. . 15 feet. 


Fitteen hundred feet east of this cut the brown sand, No. 2, is over- 
laid by thinly stratified white sand dipping south twenty degrees east 
at an angle of four degrees. 

A compiled section of this part of the line gives: 


1, ourtace soiband brown sands. .: i. 4). a eee 23 feet. 
Ze MET e ious San Ostone <5), ws. oe aeetue, aoe ee 14 feet. 
3. Dark brown iron-stained sand, wedge-shaped, from. ... 6in.to 3 feet. 
Ana Stratified wuitesand 9.0 2°. 40h. > F Aided) ead eee 4 feet. 
5.2 Gross+ bedded brown sand |.) a RR ee 10 feet. 
64. Unstratified yellow? sands j:) «ser fi uk eet eae eee 15 feet. 


On the old Dallas and Shreveport road, at Devil’s Gap, about half a 
mile south of the line, a cut in the road shows a section of: 


1. Brown sand and ferruginous gravel CADOUas the hills in the 
MEI UDOMNOOda Hs Lh, GS a ee OES, hy ate eg ale he ee 20 to 50 feet. 


2: Stratum of fermiginoustsandstoner ane... en Gu. eae 8 inches. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 15 


3. Interstratified deposits of brown sand and clay in thin strata 


Ligne a OPES oe PSST >, 2: a ee A hy ee ots ak ae 4 to 2 inches. 
PITICLSA TTL COT. rt A RPE one 4g i et See pest 
EREIEC EC LST fin. oh Se eee Pier, 8 ee ea 


The peculiarly protective action of the hard cap rock overlying a 
deposit of soft material is beautifully illustrated in the case of the eight 
inch stratum of sandstone a few hundred yards east of the last section 
near the west side of Mill creek. In a cut on the road the sand- 
stone is broken in places, but where it remains the thin slabs of stone 
are seen resting upon pedestals of underlying sands and clays. ‘These 
stand out very prominently from the face of the cut, and are fre- 
quently completely isolated from the bank. ‘These pillars are of a 
uniform height of five feet, and their former connection with the bank 
behind them can be traced by the thin band of sandstone passing to- 
wards the east around the hill. 

Crossing Mill creek, and going east, the country is covered with the 

ray sand streaked and cross-bedded and lying in strata of unequal 
thickness for nearly a mile. Near Bolton’s switch a cut in the hill 
shows the section of: 


Peeeeriupinous material and sand . 4.04) a.nd Ven.) Ditfeet, 
ME OUST TAY SAU eee er cre the pri alate so) See porem sess te. Pater 
Seeder Stracuin of ‘ferruginous material 740. Se Rk z inch. 
Sea eee Ue Craver sts eae te et riper occh es eee soe, ay es Ou feet, 
Pee uit stratumot browutsandy lignite.oi).. 6. es ee. 1 foot. 
ee ee ee aaa ene eth, Wal gat eS yee sleek lea 8 ve 3 . feet. 
7. Stratified bluish colored sand. .... BOM thew ue w Soh a het 1% oi 6 feet. 


The lower beds of this section dip three degrees to the southeast. 

Going eastward the sands and clays seen in the following section 
maintain a southeasterly dip of two to three degrees for nearly a mile, 
after which they change slowly to a northwestern direction: 


MR IERTC COUP bear er bora SKM Get Dal. Es MISTER cavern il ee Sh at gs 1 foot. 
Peeepiownt cand-and sandy clay (0.0 6d beigiove ees el: BA: Chee... ay tae 7 2 feet. 
RRR IAE OTM oe east oe ics ey ce RT ei ai by es gy dbs es 6 feet. 


On the east side of Caney creek, a cut or washout nearly six hun- 
dred feet long, and from fifteen to twenty feet deep, shows a series of 
gray and brown cross-bedded sands which are apparently underlaid by 
the blue clay found west of the creek. The cut shows the following 
section: 


SSA gS So RCRA Tid etal Cy ey carta ane eR 10 inches. 
Wi crOss-Deaged Sande 1.) 1. ope Pe WO BE er oss 2 feet. 
PEER CIRUTE SLTARIICCLGATICN Ms!2 th, > he je Cee ws NG we. he Pe es 2 feet. 
4. Grayish blue sandy clay, showing a rolling structure dipping 

Peta moMont? cecreast (a 1 ie Nek lee SY oe s,s 4 feet. 
oo, VOR SHE). oily Sa iea r Si tice aie Sone aie 3 feet. 
SreLrer iat aber SA ANG CLAYTON tvinc tt ee ias ep sc eset Mie SLs 15 to 18 feet. 


The thickness of the brown, overlying sand in this region is some- 


76 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


what variable, as a well two hundred yards north of the road gives a 
section of : 


A rOWN Sand’... 6. |... SS On. ony Se 38 feet. 

2. Black (slaty?) laminated clay ..... cle er 4 feet. 

DIAG TRY SANG. 6025. 4.0... 6a oe eee i ge 10 feet. 
Hight hundred feet east the section is: 

iivebrown; Sands... > a. ER R= lle ees Cy aaa 5 feet 


These sands dip southeast, but three thousand feet further east the 
section shows the same beds dipping in a northwesterly direction. The 
section is as follows: 


12P Brown Sand 5 60055 6.5. he. Sees en OF Oars eee re 4 feet. 
Za Gray sand with ferrnginonsanatertalsmeer saree) te) se 8 feet. 


Ber oWhite sand’. 0 oo. c5 3 0 a Le ye OE coke ofa ok ee 


The dip of these beds is extremely variable, although from this fact 
section uniformly towards the northwest. 


GRAND SALINE REGION. 


The region around Grand Saline is a region of much disturbed strata. 
The Saline itself is a small prairie-like sandy plain, the sands of which 
are strongly impregnated with saline material and underlaid by com- 
paratively level deposits. 

On the west and northwest sides of the Saline the country rises for 
several miles, and then descends toward Caney creek and the Sabine 
river. In this region the deposits are made up chiefly of clays, sandy 
clays and sands, with several thin beds of soft bluish yellow and blue 
limestone. Associated with the lowermost stratum of the limestone 
seam there appears to be a thin stratum of quartz. The lowermost-of 
these beds dip at very high angles, but show a gradual decrease in 
declivity toward the west or uppermost deposits in the series. T’owards 
the southwest side of the Saline the beds have the same strike and dip, 
but are mostly covered by deposits of the Quaternary period. To the 
northeast and east the deposits seem tu have generally a low dip toward 
the east and southeast. 

The structure of the prairie is best exhibited by the borings of the 
wells made for the purpose of obtaining salt from the underlying 


deposit. A section of the Lone Star well, close to the Grand Saline 
station, gives: 


Thickness. Depth. 
1. ‘Brownish pray sandy clay we> om, ac eena 8 26. feet. 26 feet. 
2, ' Brown Sand way aee tet v4, Ss old eee eae Poin mo £eet 34 feet. 
5. Sand ant Gravely eyo. sak dere whale Pewee Bet is 3 feet. 37. feet. 
4. Black (shal yplayae e029 so ios pee ety ee 2 20 feet. 57 feet. 
&..- Laignite sexes hoy ata eae ae On eM treet 3 feet. 60 feet. 
6.:' Sandy shalyrelay pass) hy 3k 6 eae ee ra 20 feet. 80 feet. 
1s 


Sand and owateros 2: 05 oe eee ie is 5 feet. 85 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 77 


Panu Clay Sale weet © ana Sc 3) tReet Pie Heh 65 feet. 150 feet. 
SMEATON SWALET SS Sapeen, al! pc arse Sa a ERENT MN te ee Se 14 feet. 164 feet. 
10. Hard white sand with a vein of salt water, five per 

POL SAIE Ci Kt, esr en tee alo fy io eee GR tn, LAL. 14 feet. 178 feet. 
MPM PLA Gana TOCK ime ieee. ooo. neh meee ce a oe 6 feet. 184 feet. 
Peoeeritale CONCAINING PYTILesg er oii Sorat, oh dalle Seen os nde apteerg. 188: feet. 
13. Blue limestone mixed with streaks of sand and gray 

limestone, but blue forming chief deposit ...... 42 feet. 230 feet. 
Pree ISM TY ed eo 2 AL RePEc MEAG iat do el va mak Sal) el welt WA 5 feet. 235 feet. 
PERIL Sa Liman De Pts war emie ts) SIG GN tal ey) of em sirvag eed 4 124 feet. 359 feet. 


This well commences in a brownish gray sandy deposit lying along 
the western side of the prairie, and the elevation of the mouth is nearly 
thirty feet above the mouth of the Richardson well. 

The Richardson well has been bored in the prairie close to the west- 
ern side, and gives the following section: 


Thickness. Depth. 
STH TOW LISH DlACk SANG. onl he? ci ee ok ce ares 4 3 feet. 3 feet. 
2 TRS gio a OD Aaa ie ota ht a Sa I? =teet, 15x feet. 
RTICC URI CLAY cir caali ys Vales Mer hs a ee ies Oeiteet.. 0 20 feet. 
ame eliow sand and water ao.) i. Awe egies 6 feet. 26 feet. 
mnie bine cay And’ gravel 2) Foe ee. ee ees mseet. 4228 feet. 
Pee ICESATi¢ with Water. sf. a wis ee 3k et de 2 feet. 30 feet. 
wearcoarse white sand.) .4,).0 0-5 <. a tos beef BG Loa a ae 5 feet. 35 feet. 
8. Blue gray merging into bluish black dirt with iron 
pytites and broken Himiestone 6.5 i os a 48 feet. 3. feet. 
ROL PLA VEL CSLOTG ue) iii) 5f. a Sal g Togl py e-em. es ee sie kee ag: eOUi, Leet, 
me andy cualy elay.c(slater) oy 2. eda ele eos Pi teet..2103> feet. 
Ee CLAY WILL ATOM DYTILES, = ye See ee hie 20:5 feet. 123° feet. 
TNE Soe iad 8 2 al ee te a 9 feet. 132 feet. 
Dame Snale Wii ator Dyrites ssc. eo tlele Ut) eas, 5 feet... 137° feet. 
Been eay BHAI WIth DVTHES) oo tre 2) oh te oe Gs ek 12 feet. 149 feet. 
ipeeoaudstone withopyrites io)... OR 14 feet. 163 feet. 
PLA ALEC OIA ATIMOSLOMG el pete pce ay ade RA eee eats 25 feet. 188 feet. 
Stmemiiard pray limestone —) 1h... ook bo) Se ye. 4 feet. 191% feet. 
TLC NC ORCL paler Were Ah ed oo to. rs uatete ha Ws ie aah ate 4 feet. 194 feet. 
19. Alternate strata of salt and limestone ........ 18> feet. (212 feet. 
SEU SCCRSALCT ae ur’ ct) Sp esP ENS Se ree oe AR eet Lk la eee Me 300 feet. 512 feet. 
Bem initeoray. Sand nets oy i er Ba heh eF 2 feet. 514 feet. 
22. Black sand with water, in bottom of well not bored 
VCE RAID 3 ong ie eae ie RS CAEN Mente CF elie SR Pen Cake é 6 feet. 520 feet. 


These two wells are about half a mile apart, and the line between 
them extends due east and west. On the south side of the prairie, and 
due south of the Richardson well, another boring entered the rock salt 
deposit at three hundred and thirty-five feet. The section of this well 
is said to be the same as the Richardson, but no accurate. particulars 
could be obtained. 

From these borings it would appear that the deposits filling the 
prairie-like depression are comparatively level. 

The basal section of the deposit lying northwest and west of the 
Saline are shown in the following section: 


18 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


1. Upper surface of brown and gray sands having no definite 


lines of stratification on topof hill .......... 10 feet. ~ 

2. Soft limestone, dipping 70 degrees north 10 degrees west. 1 foot. 

3. Bluish gray sandy clay with white limy concretions. . . . 49 feet. 

4. Soft yellowish blue limestone,same as No.2. ...... 1 foot. 

5. Gray sandy clay, covered in places by ferruginous sand. . 91 feet. 

SyeHermginous: clay. .)°-\.': 2 PiNaeeeeenae ne nnn) ecelier eae ae 3 foot. 

7. Gray sandy clay containing small streaks of ferruginous 

nodules, highest streak nine feet from upper surface . . 40 feet. 
8. Soft bluish limestone, dipping 70 degrees north 10 degrees 
west . wa tock oe PP ec ae i a eee ee ee + foot. 

9. Gray laminated satay Clay sah a, (seh a Gale ot Pe 2 feet 2inches. 
10. Indurated ferruginous sandy clay ......... . . . A. feet Zinches, 
it Gray laminated sandy. clay). >.1 vane te a a ee . 4 feet 2inches. 
12.6 Indurated ferruginous sandy clay .4o9,_. ).) + sean ee + foot. 

13. Laminated ‘pray sandy clay.0. 00) ae gta) ee 3.) teek 
14. Indurated ferrnginous sandy /Claysca iy ine acre eee ; x foot. 
iD: Laminated gray. sandy clay/afin.ae oh. wen es 4 feet. 
16. Indurated laminated sandy clays.) ihn, yee se ne ee 3 foot 
17.) ‘Laminated gray satidyclayy men es asa 6 feet, 
1¢.” ‘Indurated laminated yellow Clay 2.90.4. er eee ap. aeetOot: 
19... Laminated gray sandy Clay ss 5.'4 eu. oes Ge Duaeet. 
20.. Thin stratum of limestones (0 7) ec ee 4 inch. 
21. Laminated gray sandy clay with parales of ferruginous 
matter) .::, 0% ak rae saree ene a co Rings Tae Senora aa 20 . feet. 
- 22. Kerruginous clay vi. oi ae aes ae eee ee . | paQuaptests 
23. Laminated gray sandy clay with peeanee of ferruginous 
matter. On the upper side of this deposit there is a joint 
south 40 degreestedste. ar OV a hs sa ee 44 feet. 
74. Yellow laminatediclay = ane nse heer Re pie oe Lay (ee 
25, Dark pray sands 4 inne oop ee eee ee eg 73 feet. 
26. Grayish yellow sandv clay containing small calcareous 
CONCKELLONS =. verry ra adit Fr tee et se cae op ge Co Sika LO eee 
27. Indurated sand with Hodes ci a eh ae Re Bho en Oot 
28. Grayish yellow sandy clay with calcareous eoticrertones ve, teets 
29.4; Covered ipstorerseki i) 59.) ht iy ke ane eee Fi ot OU. eels 


Going northwest from this section the first exposure seen is in a 
small stream near the village of Grand Saline. The section in this 
cut is: 


Life BOW SADA | yee. kee SLES ON Ee Whe Oe a ae on 3 feet. 
Dwi Blush gray sand ©. 9%). ae oc See eee ere ate ne ane ate 2 feet. 
oo» syaniinated sandy clay - + Sok eae ee ee Se oe 8 feet. 
4. Hermipinous saridstone 4.2.0) RR Se eG ee ee Ett sg 1 foot. 
5, Laminated. ‘brown ‘sand::."'s— SGU eee eae ee ome eae eo oe 1 to 5 feet. 


These beds dip north 80 degrees west at an angle of 9 to 14 degrees. 
Half a mile further to the northwest, and near the crest of the hill, the 
brown ferruginous gravel and nodules of iron ore and ferruginous 
sandstone overlie stratified gray sand dipping north 60 degrees west. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 79 


A section at this place gives the following: 


1. Yellowish trown sand containing nodules of iron ore and broken 
SSUOSLONCMsl eames. sk Le DQ ae ne ts S, 40 feet. 

ee Herruginous pravel-with iron nodules 2... 50s Ae ee es 4 feet. 

3. Gray stratified sands showing such irregular dips as to give the beds 

. she appearance. of; pein cross-bedded.~. 9. unk tate ws 6 feet. 


From this place the level of the country descends toward Caney 
creek, and the section shows a series of laminated fossiliferous sands 
and clays with occasional thin seams of lignite. A section on the 
northwest quarter of the Peter Benton headright shows: 


1. Yellow sand, stained brown in spots, containing broken ferrugi- 


nous sandstones and fragments of silicified wood. ..... '. 8 inches. 
See DRM Sata The fou fey. ey ye «hee nvamen hl ste witty a, ia. feet. 
pee mLotued pitie and recvsandy.clay™. {0 2 <6) wks, eee es 15 feet. 
Po Laminated bine clayy. 1, °) 2) 5 2 ak ee Deere en ries FSi 6 feet. 
Sel SOG I ANS SU Sp Biot et Ny Te LM PN oe Pe NN a 4 inches, 
TEE LO CE SATUS VU Vad 2h Pie kt at ro 4) co OAS hg WRAL S Wee cathe oe a, s 2 feet. 
7. Stratified sand with thin seams of clay containing fragments of 

EVE EPS oleae nS a ie Bah Ub Ais ater er are SR SESr Su Dee res a 4 feet. 


Three hundred feet further down the creek (north), the lignite, No. 
5, shows an outcropping eighteen inches thick. 

Sufficient information has not yet been obtained to definitely locate 
the south side of the saline, or the position of the fold. The few sec- 
tions obtained during the course of the work show variable dips from 
the south to the northwest. 

On the south side of the saline basin, and between it and Saline 
creek, there exists a ridge of gravelly sand with occasional deposits of 
a yellowish white sandy clay, rising about forty feet above the level of 
the plain and extending in a nearly easterly course (south 70 degrees 
east). 

The section near the base of this ridge shows: 


Brey MeTTUPMOUNS SAN fs 30 Nonfat pi ts! Maes Ue ee 2 feet. 
2. Yellowish white sandy clay, dipping south 


Another cut further east, along the same ridge, shows a section of a 
gray clayey sand, bluish tinted at the base and yellow toward the top. 
Where the section was obtained the bed appeared to fold over, having 
a dip of south 20 degrees east 1 degree on the eastern end, and north 
88 degrees west 2 degrees at the western end. 

These were the only sections seen along this side of the saline 
proper. 

Saline creek and its flood plain form the chief boundary of the 
southeast portion of the saline. No sections of any kind have been 
obtained from any portion of this side of the saline south of the line 
of railway. 

North of the road the sections obtained from several cuts shwo a 


80 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


series of beds differing in some respects from those to the west and 
dipping towards the east and southeast. 

On the northeast corner of the Samuel Bell headright, about two 
miles northeast of Grand Saline, a cut in an old road shows a section of: © 
1.) brown ferrtiginous sand ;. 4; -2sce armenia ats et. ce) ee 6 feet. 
2. Gray laminated clays dipping north 30 degrees west ....°. . . . 20 feet. 

On the east side of the same headright, and within half a mile north 
of the railway, a section shows: , 


be Surface gray sandy soil)’. -. eee et ae) ee 1 foot. 
2, 4e5rown urstratified sand |. Fue ae pelts wan ante Sion See ee 5 feet. 
o... brown stratified sand |...) . 0 Behe a ie to leh creek fe a ee 3 feet. 
470 lhin seams of. lignite: .)..c8" sie, ast) 3) eee See ne z inch. 
5. Stratified bluish sandy clay, containing impressions of fossil plants, 
notably.the Sadal 2 v.61. ye SES ee Or a ee ee 3 feet. 


Near the north side of the cut the stratified sandy clay, No. 5, is 
broken and. jointed.. The joints are nearly perpendicular and have a 
south 20 degrees west course. 

Three miles east of Grand Saline station a small hill rising from the 
bottom land shows a deposit of stratified sand dipping south 60 de- 
grees, east 8 degrees. This is the first section obtained on the east 
side of the saline basin, and in all probability is at least two miles 
beyond the region controlled by the structure of the saline. 

The structure of the beds of yellow sandy clay containing limy con- 
cretions found lying near the base of the section north of the saline, 
and dipping north 10 degrees west 7 degrees, appears to be the same as 
the yellow stratified sands and clay with the same character of con- 
cretions found at,Wills Point, dipping southeast 2 degrees, south 2 to 
5 degrees. If so, then it would appear that these beds form a syn- 
cline or trough between these two points, a distance of nearly twenty- 
five miles, and from the observed dip along the line of the section 
the deepest portion of this trough would be a short distance east of 
the present course of Caney creek, and correspond closely to the syn- 
clinal axis now seen in the upper beds. 

The bearing of the Cretaceous limestone forming the base of Grand 
Saline and overlying the salt deposits of that region is not so well under- 
stood as yet. But from what is at present known these beds appear to 
have exercised some influence in causing the folding of the overlying 
clays and marls. In addition to the western fold of the bed, the black 
or blue clay found in the borings of Grand Saline also occur in a boring - 
at Mineola, fourteen miles further east, at a depth of one hundred and 
eighty feet. From this it would appear that these beds, after passing 
the Grand Saline fold, resume their normal dip toward the southeast. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. Sl 


FROM GRAND SALINE EAST TO MINEOLA. 


Going east, the first section of any importance occurs four miles from 
Grand Saline, where a cut gives the following section: 


POU OTL Vise oer ay Pe i RTT ciate ly al cet at te RMR RUMMY Ceaieeer tes eeutene a! 6 inches. 
SUED VLD ROOT Gorg Pee etre a eg! oe iy, MAE IN ea, .. 4. feet. 
3. Gravel and sand .°.° 2 *.). ee ok a re eg . . 6 inches. 
Bee UUM ISIS PER VIORIICE RCE TO oe IN re: os ok ee a 43 feet. 
Ree OAT COLOTER CIAVOVIBANG. sj se. A ler Mp tis, L foot: 
SORE RNC ERT ge ee mi gte Al ec) eo Sata bodo my a ee 23 feet. 
Pee Browilsand” oe fee Sint Ce ROLE DO eA ees2 feet. 


The only other cuts seen hermes this and Silver Lake station show 
brown sand. A little west of the station a deep ravine and railway cut 
show a coimmbined section of: : 

MVE OULLEC SAO OLA Van ile he ake ele a te Ae wae! tad Unites sek ws 5 feet. 


PEP IIAtCO. SUNG AO Clays. c/a 4e teas Waele.) cece teie eek? eet Se 4 feet. 
3. Laminated ferruginous matterandsand........... 10 feet. 
emep tinsttatuin oriaminated irom/ore 8.2 i al 6 inches. 
Me Ta yiSiiivellOWsSaAnde ia) Gua Pimentel more te SI kere 1lto2 feet. 
Gem Nodules Or concretionsof iron Ore 2. ls 2. . feet. 
7. Gray sand, black near center of cut and contains numerous 
Cry cer rm inengey DOWIUE enue. re en tas re 82 hee a eal ve 4 feet. 
Be Coveted up, probably same as NO) 7)... . . kik ee le 15 feet. 
DP RUT VAIS LUCCA VET Chee, ce ee Seale us, «ve ol om 5 dale fe 3 feet. 
Pee pine samsmated sand in creek = 9!) 2.8 i ea 4 feet. 


These beds dip southeast at an angle of 3 degrees. 

From Silver Lake the country falls toward Sabine river, and is covered 
with a gray sand overlaid with a brown sand. Sands form the only 
deposits seen until within two miles of Mineola, where a section gives: 


TARY LICL aS RIE AT ae 1 eR oie tie Reg” oi ua tha Solo dup) oo oa h ec ben tal es 4 feet. 
SETAE CCNA UIE AC LV irae tse Pe alent) aes soc yet Je dlp le es ag 4 - feet. 
TTDI LECIGCATLY Wisi tt. co ok Lec ay paces Wap Peis va oo! jelai oa Cage eve oe ee 3 feet. 


The clay is not continuous, as in a section not more than fifty feet 
further east it is replaced by a laminated gray sand. A section here 
gives: 


ity Peete. Eee 


(A ETE SGI 8 PAPER PO StS Beata eg ot AR os 10 inches. 
Mottled sandy clay weathering yellow. ............. 4 feet. 
Blue laminated shaly clay, with partings of light brown sand. . . 10 feet. 
Mr PIII TIMETSTANCCISANGI. sts Perhe crue sieet sod pay teh a fe et ees Me 4 feet. 
Pea EADIE HY SAT eee Pee a Vk tere e bes ek 8s es ee 15 feet. 


82 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


A well bored at Mineola gives the following section: 


Sss5 
sss 
CII III SS 
SS sses 


Fig. 4. 
Well at Mineola. Scale 1 inch=40 feet. 


SECTION OF WELL AT MINEOLA. 
Thickness. Depth. 


Fe Topsoil 442 ay OOK 1 foot. 
DMR ec Clavinne coe Blo bye as fa oop Sea hae Ree LT 12 ° feet. 
8. Gray or white sand with water .,.....5..... 8 feet. 20 feet. 
A Brownishiblack: lay oo... 2s a ee Teel aicep feet. 
5. Brown rolaye lee. fa, eal ea ek a eee Us Tee te 35.. feet: 
Ge Binetolayt satel ye Ge Ve he a ee Oe ee 50 feet. 
7. Browimclay, sindand micax. 2) su wok Ae wee EL eet 66 feet. 
8, ‘Iagnite sandjand iron pyrites \° . wo.) 22). ie eae feet. 70 feet. 


ems UNie Wath Wakenome ss 6.64) es ue een Les 1 foot. 
MP ISIRG CIMT SOEs techn... es ok oat eee PRT 4 feet. 
serGrtay, Samastone: wath water... oS). .c oe eu ep eben 5 feet. 
mee ORO, GISY) Uae ete ee ck) es) EL ae 20 feet. 
MM OCLGE Si Clay rent mUnP eae, yw gia, ce eye ee ees 10° feet. 
PRUETT SLOten With water tiem. tisk St. SUA ee 5 feet. 
POwaGravor bine claycd tte oh. ). ice. Ge, vA ee ee 3 foot. 
16. Sandstone with water. . BALE spe ays ae oy eRe 93 feet. 
Demeoitisiheray clay and pyrites,.<..-. 3°). a aes 45 feet. 
18. Bluish gray clay with some sand.......... 2 720% feet, 
19. Blue clay with limestone bowlders........... 20 feet. 
DOM Crty AAMC ere ger, ee a ES ae 4 oleh # Sais, to uiect, 
21. Black clay with limestone, pyrites,etc. ........ 6 feet. 
SRM et CIMES TST GL S01, toc. bors cin an anh, Pareto toc ey 6 haceeee as 2 feet. 
Pere 7G ViSANUEAILAICA.\o) 2 Ce a acd wie ooh wher ob shee es 5 feet. 
24. Black and blue clay, mica and pyrites. ........ 1 foot. 
25. Gray sand, mica, brown clay and water........ 6- feet. 
Bremonncetone with water 271) 7)<. 03 Cee OTe Pa 4 feet: 
EEE COW TL ACACIA Yt oo i? ath boule pee are tw, 3 Ae) we Dgewa ee 26 feet. 
SOM ICCIOL Es Pe tee be neh RES Al ge vi tare tN se % Yedect es Oo 5. feet. 
29. White or gray clay, sand, mica and pyrites with water . 10 feet. 
EGG NSS ee ial 7 a le ge eS ee a 1 foot. 
31. White clay with thin strata of sand with water. .... LO feet. 
Seemntown clay and: white'sand .. , 0406 Sk SOA, 10> ‘feet. 
Soe White sand with water .. fi ci bee awl Outeet: 
Bappenrowni clay and listite.), |) soy os evita. i 2orfeet, 
UME UUIVOLIL CEAY nif ch ld cat sk atc) katte ae ne Teer. 
OV OSUASZ TACOS Ro 2 J Bainea 0) bib MN per iaaeitiees Pua rae. Odi Sy ae 8 feet. 
MCL ay BANAT AIONIIC ian fee ate ee ee ee 8 10 feet. 
Bommiovay sanucdiand pyzites, ai py he Lot hart iad feet, 
EIS SAI SNCs oo e's bald ofA sida sb any hire. 'y' Leto de) d: feet. 
40. .Grayish white sand and black mud ........ wna & feet. 
41. Coarse white sand with grains of lignite and water. . . 20 feet. 
SOW E. CLAM Ley GaP a eat Fok ie oi EA A ote She ded id ayaa oo 5 feet. 
Smemiten® att sa has Sa, wo sal HAS as tdek sims Pos Afoot: 
Rare ilite Saud, very. coarse, with’ water 3 2jo). cies er feet: 
BINEREIIN CCL UME unm ee ioe bag Sle) MTN Aas PET ay SBN. Stee Gite 3 feet. 
MR Lea Taree hee cers 2,0 Wel eBags Nese pret cS duh Hie we oes 2 feet. 
Rrra visnwiite Clay... 4). la ee PAL LA ae 3 feet. 
NERTRE WEA CLAN ee SH SR ete ha up hey Sane acy bee ba hehe Shee Os Leet, 
ML Cle DT CHW TL CLAN ah Hae IR ONS TS eles Ng oa 1 foot. 
AC MULT) RS COPS lee etc a. aphids We Weitia Oe helped cf facie 2 feet. 
Pree biacm tune Sard and dionite si. ees tasy sey lodet shor! a 2 feet. 
Semmlron pyrntesjand black mud). ©... GX... eee ee ay ver Sefeet, 
Pome AC LOW CIny/atd Pyrites (ff. ek ee 30 feet. 
PRMCUUG MMM eS uy Se tye woe aS AOL IeeL. 
50. Black brown clay . Peete Me ahace heh sth UAE MAW ee oo 7i9 SY feet, 
Betstay eanmwitn water te sk lta Se ah do P's 10 feet. 
i LORE > 2 Sig. iat ere a ae 5 feet. 
Bone Wiite sand with water, 0.0 oe Pe 8S ort. ALO feet. 
AP ey Every HILAL CLO Yio iol sass puvatnks Ho etc? kl ee 10 feet. 
Siew stay SAIC IMICAANC WALET. t. fr git oa Ln Fete ht alse ee 15. feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 


71 

75 

80 
100 
110 
115 
1154 
125 
170 
180 
200 
215 
221 
223 


. 228 


229 
235 
239 
265 
270 
280 
281 
300 
310 
320 
340 
342 
350 
360 
370 
378 
380 
400 
405 
406 
408 
411 
413 
416 
421 
422 
424 
426 
430 
460 
475 
480 
490 
495 
505 
515 
530 


84 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


Oikemivang Drown Clay... . 3 \'. -s>,« te) sone eamamnr nee hey Nee enon 20 feet. 550 feet. 
Deer uotavish bitte clay » .. 0... ce ea ok 25 feet. 575 feet. 
Oo.) Dark brown clay ’!" >...) ieee I POR ie 20 feet. 595 feet. 
64. Joint clay and sand at bottom of boring ........ 5 feet. 600 feet. 


2. SECTION FROM MINEOLA TO TYLER ALONG THE LINE OF THE 
INTERNATIONAL AND GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY. 


This section extends in a southerly direction from Mineola to Tyler, 
a distance of twenty-five miles. The line passes principally through a 
low country, descending, for the first four miles, from Mineola towards 
the Sabine river, and after crossing a wide flood plain or bottom land, 
rising by successive stages until it reaches Tyler, where it has an eleva- 
tion of one hundred and ten feet above MALS or five hundred and 
thirty-one feet above tide water. 

The actual termination of this line at its northern end is abouta 
mile east’of Mineola station, where a railway cut and stream channel 
show the following sections: 

Section shown in cut on Texas and Pacific Railway about one mile 
east of Mineola: 


taeGray, surface soil. -°)..s,)..) 00k vd eee ele een 10 inches. 
20 Yellow mottled ‘sandy clay): . 02 -o. eon Spay et i 15 feet. 
5. o Mottled yellow and red ‘sand °..c73) Raed a 4° feet: 
di motratihedssand®. 240). so. 2s ee eg Ne oie, « Qoaiineees 


In the stream channel from fourteen hundred to sixteen hundred feet 
east of last section, the section is as follows: 


Li Gray sand:stained brown in places’ )/.79y0. ee 2to 4 feet. 


2... Gravel‘and siliceous pebbles ‘+ 07))20e sae ee eee 2 to 10 inches. 
=.) Cross-bedded. brown sand. < ). "=. vag cas nen cere nee ae 4 feet. 
4, Alternating strata of gray sand and purple colored clay. The 


clay having changing thicknesses from ten inches at the 

base to less than half inch at the top, and the sandy strata . 

from one foot at the base to four feet at the surface. . .. . 20 feet. 
5. Stratified blue and gray sand, same as seen in railway cut. . . 2 feet. 


No. 4 of this section dips at the high angle of thirteen degrees at its 
western end, but gradually assumes the normal dip of three degrees on 
going eastward, and No. 5 bends down under the overlying beds at 
their western end. The high dip of No. 4 may be ascribed to and is 
probably due to the erosion of some of the underlying deposits. 

Going southward along the line of section the country is covered by 
a brown sand two to five feet thick, resting upon a gray sand four feet 
thick. 

A short distance south of this the combined section of several small 
cuts shows: 

1. . «Brown sand: neue ee eit ae 6 oe lone totes Mine Bn ieee 2to 5 feet. 


2. Thinly stratified or laminated sand and ferruginous mate- 
Bia ho aa eee ane Pe adie aan ee Oke —.\ . .6inchesto 4 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 85 


PLcOL gravish whitesand. .. . ..) 5) ie eke 3 to 5 feet. 
Bare DINE Clay mn Tene. 6... o's at Spek aes 10 to 12 feet. 


These beds dip 2 degrees south 40 east. 

The surface of the blue clay presents an undulating appearance, as 
if it had been subject to erosion before being overlaid by the gray 
sands. Wherever this clay is seen ina cut it has a mound shaped ap- 
pearance, showing heaviest in the center of the cut, and rarely extend- 
ing so as to be seen at both ends. ; 

Crossing the Sabine river bottom lands, which are here nearly two 
miles in width, the southern bank of the river shows a section of: 


MEOW SANG 5 cushy a wD is, Sots rca be ais ede Nate ME RNS Metra faust 3a) 10 feet. 
mupniinated Gark' bine clayiti. ie aS A ea Bar ial they eee os 60 feet. 
ESTER eC Mar CEN LS SEA ks cy ek ae Wl smote athe? a he pa |: 2 feet. 


Near mile post 87, about a mile south of the last section, a small 
cut shows a basin-shaped series of beds giving the following section: 


SITS AE NSCLC OT yee ty) cr a ob athe ce copes, debe el na ea al wte 2 feet. 
ery Oc eee sas TOW Ayo tr.) Marmite: wee yl a we. BBS, 2 to 5 feet. 
MSIL TALE ep take ia bags ip aesnihy s Mea ate peneke tt 10 inches. 
4, Brown clay containing broken plant remains ......... 2 feet. 
RY CONC evict ples mip ernie”. Parte yk ns a ek OS, 2 feet 


Nearly three hundred feet south of this section the lignitic material 
crops out at the base of the section, dipping slightly in a’southeasterly 
direction. 

Throughout the next three miles the section presents a series of un- 
dulations, showing comparatively low dips on their northwestward 
sides, and short steep dips towards the southeast. 

A cut near the base of the hill, on which is situated the railway 
tank, and near mile-post 36, shows a section of: 


8S fora oT sit EER Sa ot A CERRO a Re BC a oo 10 inches. 
SE TUIMAGHSE COUT Salih. cuca ts oi’) mete die te ee ee aS 2 feet 
Tass ee vere ec ee i A Sr kL oat js shana feet, 
Pees -pedded brown sands... o.oo he eG 3 feet. 
5. Laminated blue sand and brown clay with lignitic partings ... 6 feet. 


The dip of these beds is very small and towards the west. 
The cut shown in the hill just north of the tank gives the sec- 
tion of: 


Mumitrrnne »tavicns WiHite Sand... 2 ee pa we See ee 1 foot. 

RE Tee TGR ue vot a re Li My aa neg Male Ske a) bicin += 4 feet. 

6M VA RDP CUUie igs ae SSS ee oie Ah arsine Nin nae 4 feet. 

Paewassive pinkysand') 28... ene NE EI ei NEA ly ge oe ae a 6 feet. 

eumentririntenitarmeotay Satidt, Wi pa Seo el ei sk a 3 feet. 

mE IGS OT UEREAY. SANE Bei) 5 ke ory h(a Kop eede Ot tek a SS eps oe 4 feet. 

7. Laminated dark lignitic sandy clay with yellow efflorescence. . . 2 feet. 

ce DUS Yee lca o)) ee  s  gIS URE reer ar a pli Ne Ee Re 8 inches. 

9. Ljignitic material,sand and broken plants. ........... 8 inches. 
Pe wDatkralinostpiack,. 1iepitic: Clay. 4 Fe ee OY ee 4 feet. 


86 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


The dip of these beds is variable. All the beds under the lignite, 
No. 8, dip south twenty degrees east about three degrees, and the over- 
lying beds in the same direction with a less than two degree inclina- 
tion. 

The next cut, eighteen hundred feet south of mile post 35, shows a 
change both in material and direction of dip, the upper division of this 
section being a heavy deposit of unstratified white sand, and the lower 
a mottled brown sand with white spots, dipping north 10 degrees west 
3 degrees. The white sand of this section extends to near the crest 
of the cut north of the tank and rises to a considerable height above 
the line of rails. 

Fifteen hundred feet north of mile post 34 the cut shows the first in- 
dication of ferruginous sandstone and gravel, in the shape of a one 
inch seam lying between the yellow and mottled brown sand. South- 
ward, a few hundred yards, the first ferruginous gravel and broken 
sandstone seen on this division of the line occur. ‘These gravels are 
made up chiefly of brown sand, ferruginous sandstones, small nodules 
or pieces of iron and brown sand. From near mile post 34 these grav- 
els are overlaid by whitish yellow sand as far south as Lindale, where .- 
the region round about is covered by it. At mile post 32 it is replaced 
by a brown gravelly sand. Four hundred feet further south a shallow 
cut shows: rye 


1. Brown sand containing scattered siliceous pebbles and gravel . . 2° feet. 
2. Mottled sandy clay, irregularly deposited and containing occa- 
siomal' octay, sandstone, bowlders:) . . 2.25.) ee 1 to 5 feet. 


A short distance further south a creek cut shows the mottled sandy 
clay to be underlaid by a dark blue clay. These deposits havea slight 
dip southeast, but so small as to be scarcely appreciable in the short 


distance they are exposed. Three thousand feet south of mile post 32 
a cut shows a section of: 


Uetlaoht eeay Sandiirr. acy sk us kao sc» Peo ee 3 feet. 
2. Cross-bedded sand, containing nodules or small bowlders of sand- 
stone at north end, the nodules lying in a stratum or line dip- 


ping 17 degrees and the sand 9 degrees south 50 degrees east. . 4 feet 
3. Light blue clay 


OF ae OF 6 Pe Be) oF 9g 6 CS Oe de Aen: & or Ye om 0. FP ef we, SOE om OTe Pee ee 


Hight hundred feet north of mile post 51 the road passes through a 
cut showing white sand, mottled on the outside and irregularly deposit- 
ed, but with a general tendency of dip 6 degrees south 25 degrees east. 

This section is the beginning of a series of wave-like undulations 
showing the deposits dipping alternately toward the northwest and 
southeast. The beds chiefly involved are variously colored sands and 
light and dark blue laminated clays. In nearly every instance in which 
an anticlinal arch or fold has occurred it is cut and deeply eroded, and 
in many places they now form the channels of existing streams. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. _ 87 


One thousand feet south of mile post 31 a section in a cut shows: 


Beran eatirisl. Leert ett ey ate te: .” gt OA eke tes garg, 3 feet. 
2. Thinly stratified blue sand and clay dipping north 35 degrees west 6 
SCTE RT os Me 0 ae 8 ie ek 5 feet. 


meeute laminated clay to bottom of stream . 2.2). i498 oo ss. 15 feet. 


Two thousand feet south of this the thinly stratified blue sands and 
clays are the only deposits visible above the line of the railway, and 
dip south 15 degrees west 3 degrees. Between these two sections the 
upper part of the anticline has been removed by denudation. 

From this point to mile post 31 the country is covered with a brownish 
gray sand, showing an occasional depth of five or more feet, with an 
underlying deposit of mottled sand showing here and there at irregular 
‘distances. At mile post 30 a gully shows a section of: 


BEET OG DLO WHICATIO iT a ta dee Ne ee Tooele 1 foot. 
EEE ANOtELeO SAC Clay i whers abet ude tee Oe ae 1 to 4 feet. 
SOATEST ER TASES Pl apts SE Ge ae a 2 to 5 feet. 


These deposits dip 3 degrees south 35 degrees east. 


Two thousand feet further south a heavy cut in the road shows a sec- 
tion of: 


BAW AC ME tn Wei ROR, Bee SE ESA 2° feet. 
RR GALL Ue PANU os INS )ey Ags Sonics lero We ye) ag vay ota 1 to 2% feet. 
Weotay saud spotted brownin places... 2 0s... ke. Ee. Ito: 4 feet: 


The dip of the sand shows north 80 degrees west 1 degree, while 
the underlying gray sand reverses the dip to south 15 degrees east 1 
degree. ‘The gray sand does not extend more than half way through 
the cut. 

Ascending the hill to mile post 29, six hundred feet north of this 
point, the hill shows a section of: 


pemarowriesand fo los lycos Ne. Ree a MRS a hs OTs Wea welkto whe feet: 
2. Thin seam of ferruginous sandstoneand laminatedironore. . 4 inches. 
AC AIC eel SN EOE ASR eC AO Ps te 2 eet. 
Reeenvottied blue/and red sandy clay... 002 i ke 2 feet. 


The dip of these beds is very small, but towards the southeast. At 
the mile post the same cut shows a section of: 


Ee VEC C ESAT rls UL N is, Mi) Hoe Le Volga ar ete ei hehe sls et 1 foot. 
2. Stratified mottled sand, equivalent to the mottled sand of last 

Rene eeeneteee OTL kt. Dini Le Wan AAV RR Bae Wats acts FESO. ame 4 feet. 
3. Thin seam of ferruginous sandstone thickening toward the 

i CEE RS TT enh yA At Pewiep hentai feel aus esas ley , 1 to 6 inches. 


Ee vete PINISLISSTAY SADC...) «.) cpsrdsc it -.¥ weedegh dy tote cde!» 4 feet. 


The dip of these deposits is north 30 degrees west 2 degrees. 

At the south end of the cut the brown sand again covers the surface, 
and continues as far south as mile post 28, where it appears overlying 
amottledsand. At different places small deposits of ferruginous gravel 
appear associated with the brown sand. 


88 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


Eight hundred feet south of mile post 28, the same laminated and 
mottled sands appear, overlying a blue sandy clay, and dipping north 
30 degrees west 2 degrees, in the following section: 


1. A light gray laminated and cross-bedded sand, slightly basin- 
shaped at north end, but having a prevailing dip of north 

30 degrees ‘west 2. dégrees = setae v5... ee ee lto 8 feet. 
2. Laminated grayish blue sand running under No. 1, 500 feet 
«south of north end of cut, dipping north 30 degrees west 8 


degrees. 9 .°..°0. >). >) eee, oo Pon, ener ge, 4 feet. 
>: s Wnastratified brown-sand <2. Doe ee aoa, lto 5 feet. 
4." Mottled stratified sand ("4 3.3 eee ee, Dae Oss i ee 10 feet. 
6.5 ptratified white ‘sand'\,:)).) tee eee es eo a. None 10 feet. 
6. Blue sandy clay in -bottomt.ofscreckaar a eens) 2 ou ee ees 4 feet. 


From this place to mile post 27 the few small cuts show similar sec- 
tions. Six hundred feet north of the mile post a section shows: 


de sGray sand. 3). 3 ailcc path ine ster en ea EEG by 0 ao 2-feet. 
2. Brown and mottled sand 
3. Stratified blue clay 


For the next three miles, to mile post 24, the line passes through a 
region of gently undulating gray and yellow, with occasional exposures 
of red or brown sands. | 

Four hundred feet north of mile post 24 the section shown in a small 
cut is: 


1. A Gray sand fuerte rone chic 2) Seamer as, Oe ie 28 ae 2 oe nas i ee 1 foot. 
2. (RY CHOW SADC, patietccbs se Aee coh ied ahe aLAM or te: conn e Oe by tae 4 feet. 


The gray and yellow sand of this section continues for nearly two 
thousand feet, when a section shows: 


1. Mottled sand with ferruginous sandstone ........... 2 to 4 feet. 
BIE AV DLUS CLAY tem Ge amet mea Bh jieiaiec oom hse ny wae etiam 13 feet. 
aiid MOLOWH SAU oy ee eWay sys ti 4 we) seh. ce Mowmw eee iva, 5 Dh eon ee 4 feet. 


These deposits are covered a few yards further south by a heavy de- 
posit of white sand. 

Fifteen hundred feet north of mile post 23 the white sand is under- 

laid by a laminated blue clayey sand dipping north 28 degrees west 2 to 
12 degrees, but only four hundred feet distant the section shows the 
dip to be north 28 degrees west 15 degrees. Six hundred feet south 
-of the mile post, on the south side of the stream, the section shown 
in the cut gives the same laminated blue sands overlaid by a pale blue 
clay four feet thick dipping south 25 degrees east 5 degrees. Here 
again the crest of the anticline is broken by two stream beds and 
eroded to a considerable depth. 

Fifteen hundred feet north of mile post 22 the same clay is seen in a 
section, and one thousand feet south the clay is overlaid by a small 
seam of lignite, as shown in the following section: 


DETAILS OF SECTION. _ 89 


© LORE AIG WE PE an ie a Ras dors PCS 8 feet. 
SEE SAT: Cee AR) ws Gop Cal age eRe 12 Se eh 3 feet. 
3. Lignite, dipping south 40 degreeseast ....-..... . 6 in. to 1 foot. 
Ste CIA Y SI Orth -etmiOl section, °.. Jratuentigtita et. ee eS kl. 


Four hundred feet north of mile post 21 a cut shows a section of: 


aa 


DE Be TOME Tees EM AS apts yh SS i a oie TS a a 1 to 3 feet. 

2. Pale blue clay, weathering almost white and containing a thin 
SEDCAmTCieULG. WiiLeLClA Vale ah ck. t,o) A heute SRY son oa « ¢ 4 feet. 
Peeebicut yellowish sand. or clayey sand 20... wie eee 1 to 4 feet. 
MG Stea sina athe ACE (sR! UIE ee eh ne a 


These beds dip south 28 degrees east 8 degrees. 

Between this point and Tyler no satisfactory exposures could be ob- 
tained. The hillsides are covered by a broken and disturbed series of 
sands and sandy clays, and in the few ravines or stream cuts, where 
undisturbed material is to be seen, the deposits appear to be the thinly 
stratified red and white, rarely blue, sands and clays found throughout 
the counties further east and northeast, attaining their best develop- 
ment in Cass and Marion counties. 

The few sections found in the neighborhood of Tyler show a preva- 
lence of these last mentioned sands and clays, in some places overlaid 
by brown ferruginous sands and gravel, at others having a mottled clay 
or sandy clay in close contact, and at others again covered by thinly 
stratified brown or yellowish brown indurated sands with small streaks 
of ferruginous material interstratified. Like the main deposits of these 
stratified red and white sands, as seen elsewhere, they rest upon a 
brown or yellowish brown sand, which in turn overlies a gray sandy 
clay. 

Two miles north of Tyler, on the Tyler and Mineola public road, 
there is an exposure of twenty feet of thinly stratified gray sandy 
clay, or clayey sand, dipping south 32 degrees east 5 degrees. South- 
ward, along the same road, on the southeast corner of the M. Fenton 
headright, a cut on the road shows a section of: 


1 LLP SRS NTI CH ait AOS Mee Seance ae tae AC ee Sr 1 foot, 
MOCEMOTHNOUR OLAVE! Wt toe Zo eerie S) Ae oF ewe eee at's elite 1} feet. 
MELON Stra Citled: SATICLW dir. yo 0% Sent Paneer gee Ges a ea owe wate 4 feet. 
MILTON SAT WAClA Vii aree tre bc) al einem teh ee Re. Yee ak ek Sy ets 5 feet. 
ous yellow sand with streaks of white clay... 60. .j.0.0 6 wo ee 15 feet. 
MERE PEA EST OLE CSA (Lat Peso Ven ir soy wevlge wif cotsiovy boa ee ee 8 feet. 
Ser CETTE 0 Ce ie athe MS Se ORES ont Dea | nna ae ee 12 feet. 


These beds dip south 28 degrees east 2 degrees. 

A well in this neighborhood, fifty-six feet deep, finished in a black 
dirt; probably lignite. 

Close to Tyler, on the same road, a small cut shows the red and white 
sands lying nearly horizontal. 


90 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


About a mile northwest of Tyler, on the Canton and Tyler road, a 
small section shows: 


i eBrownsand. 2.0.3. . vo eee de 0 Dae 2 feet. 
2. Mottled white and red sand containing gravel .......... 2 to 8 feet. 
3. Blue joint clay, visible ..-..0s kiepeateeee sap cnel- «1 ow meee 4 feet. 


Immediately west of Tyler the lowest deposits to be seen consist of 
thinly laminated red and white sand and clay overlaid by a yellowsand. 
Within the limits of the town of Tyler the same characteristic sands 
and clays crop out at various places where the streets have been graded. 
At the corner of Beckham and East Erwin streets the section shown is: 


I. Brown ferruginous sand’andigravele ee.) <a) oa) at eee 2 feet. 
2... -Thinly stratified, red and whiteisand and clay... wee 8 feet. 
3. Brown or yellowish brown sand seen at west end of grade. ...... 3 feet. 


On South Broadway, immediately below the opera house, the same 
stratified sand and clay lie upon a stratified brown sand, and are over- 
laid by stratified ferruginous sand and gravel. Going east from Tyler, 
on the Longview road, a cut close to the eastern limit of the corporation 
gives a section of: 


des) Gray san dig ol 405 a.) a as oper el ete cea eA dy 1foot. 


2. Mottled gray and brownish yellowsand ;.......... 15 feet. 
3. Irregular deposits of ferruginous gravel lying on eastern slope 
Of Bill ie eae 5 ya a gen ee a be 1 to 6 feet. 
4.) Kerruginous sandstotie™/. iene! glee) ee ee 6 inches. 


5. Laminated brown sand, with lamine of pale gray clay, the sand 
averaging one to four inches and the clay one-fourth to one 
inch fin‘thicknessh? <1 ac\' si 5 lash en Cie ieee epee 23 feet. 


Six hundred yards east, on the same road, the stratified sands and 
clays appear underlying the mottled sand. In this section the clay is 
predominant. 

These red and white sands can also be seen at intervals along the 
the line of the International and Great Northern Railroad as far south ~ 
as two. miles north of Troupe. 


3. SECTION FROM TYLER SOUTHWARD, ALONG THE LINE OF THE 
TYLER SOUTHEASTERN RAILWAY TO LUFKIN. 


The general course of this section is from south to southeast through 
a portion of Smith, the whole of Cherokee, and a portion of the north- 
ern end of Angelina counties. 

In the neighborhood of Tyler the red and white stratified sands ap- 
pear dipping in two directions—those on the east of the town in an 
east and southeast direction, while those exposed on the west havea 
general northwest to west course. ‘The tops of the hills are covered 
with a stratified brown sand containing thin seams of ferruginous mat- 
ter . 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 91 


Passing southward along the line of section, the country is covered 
with a light gray sand, under which is found a brown sand with occa- 
sional outcroppings of the stratified red and white sands for a distance 
of about nine miles, after which nothing but a brown ferruginous and 
gravelly sand appears. 

The sections obtained along this portion of the line are comparatively 
unimportant, and with very few exceptions show nothing but a series 
of gray, brown, yellow and mottled sand, with occasionally a pale blue 
clay. . 

A section near the station at Tyler shows: 

Re eLIEC TIE Mee aU T TAT Dahesh ts 0038 Wt hs) A shade dao Mims ea a Vecaiay 6 1 foot. 
Mier DIOWN SAUG Wa) shal ee ue seo eis ‘ 


3. Coarsely stratified red sand, in strata from one to two inches, with inter- 
laminze of white clay from one-fourth to one-half inch in thick- 


bo 


ee eee eT OM MN NEL 2. wine ote EM Sa) wih ited Wades de aii ia 8s go 4 feet 
4, Brown cross-bedded sands, containing shells of ferruginous sandstone 
SON PEge aia Sa a By NST, ga 2 BE NR Ag Te ey Ne ae Sa 5 feet 
The dip of these beds is north 10 degrees west 3 degrees. 
Half a mile further south a small cut shows a section of: 
ME IETIV 1 DEtIChe a cement a ott tah NL. fee Te a Te 8 4 feet 
MEME CATSOLY IStEAEINEO SAN! Sti) 2“ ons uplGoted ches We ae ae 3 to 4 feet 
Two miles south of Tyler, a section shown in a gully gives: 
Ee ES par EG Se Be ee VS Ne di ee alae eo a A 1 foot. 
RES CHINE USN Aste ett ieee ce ee Ng) eg eta 2 to 6 feet 
SERIE CM HMC TAA FeO Me aS nl) Silyie dl ye ee se wk teks 2 .to 8 feet 


In this cut the mottled sand dips slightly toward the northwest. 
A short distance further south a hill shows a section of: 
Se Paerietiy twit sare ch tek) PAE ET Rea e cE ee 5 feet. 


Pi 


The dips seen in this section are irregular, dipping from one to twenty 
degrees in the lower division, and although mostly north 28 degrees 
east, the stratified sands and clays are frequently folded so as to present 
southerly directions. 

Four and a quarter miles south of Tyler a section shows: 


Rega AD ks EROS | oR MOS a On Deed Nay ae one a 1 foot. 
SECU TCES SS ah Petre N ee ea UMR ETE Beheae eee ce, 8 2 feet. 
Bere UOT stOTavely Aylin) Ph ane Ue fan et lee fen a an 6 inches. 
4. Pale blue clay, stained red in places, dipping north at a small 

TE! a 38 CTI Ss See A Me sa ee, 1 to 4 feet. 


Gray sand forms the surface and covers everything as far south as 
mile post 9, where the few sections obtained may be combined as follows: 


Dey TAY San ate rine Cy. t. 3 feet. 


ZeAIBrowin Sang werent. 


Qe Oty ae ot hee bed. in Bass eee ere, obi ee le fie? goa Pk. 88 5 8 


[Paty 8 fe) aad 8 bt ee Se eS 2 ee we ne he Le ee ie Oe me Oe 


» 


92 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


Three hundred feet north of mile post 10 the next section shows six 
feet of mottled sandy clay overlaid by a yellow sand. 
Highteen hundred feet south, the section shown in a creek gives: 


REMRSTAV SANG (owl. ts + Oh Ok ge 3 feet. 
Zo mrotiied stratified sand . -. ). a .7eer cuieeemie oe pene. tee ee 4 feet. 
us spotted blue. and red sandy clay~,) [40.6 we se bes ss 3 feet. 


These beds dip south 30 degrees east 5 degrees. 
Four hundred and fifty feet further south a deposit of pale blue sandy 
clay is intercalated, giving a section of: 


Be STAy SANG a ee ec FL Re eR a nee 3 feet. 
Pr CLLOW SANG. oc e SS. tei ce a ee 3 feet. 
Pale blue sandy. clay. «<< ».:c) 22 ieee a enna oe nee 3 feet. 
ptratified mottled sand»... 2/5. [oy tienes eee een 4 feet. 
Spotted sandy clay, changing to gray sandy clay, at base. ...... 3 feet 


thane 


From this point southward, to near Bullard, the country is covered 
by two feet of gray sand which is underlaid by a OSS sand of five 
or more feet in thickness. 

Near Bullard the first greensand beds appear. These probably form 
the base of the glauconitic division of the Tertiary deposits in this 
portion of the State, which extend as far south as Alto, in Cherokee 
county, and Crockett and Alabama bluff, in Houston county, to which, 
with their accompanying iron ore deposits, the whole of the flat-topped, 
plateau-like hills of Eastern Texas owe their structure and preservation. 

A well at Bullard, thirty-eight feet deep, gives the following section: 
1) Red'sand and ferruginous gravel jue sere ac onan 7 feet. 


2. Greensand, dark greenish gray, with black grains through the first 
two feet, numerous fossil shells and shark’s teeth found near the 


Base pie cl a LS nc 24 feet. 
3. Black earth-like sediment, probably a poor lignite... ........ 2 feet. 
4, lLjgnitic clay, black, and containing small Bey partings of lignite, 

said to contain a few broken'shells.. 2/0, 9A Vhs) s Se eee 5 feet. 


5. Brown clay, thickness not known 


Oe. OC POTN RA KER SC (Oy (OR Sem, ay oF re, ee ee: 


Going south, the country is underlaid by a yellow colored altered 
greensand for more than a mile, and then the yellow glauconitic sand 
disappears under a heavy deposit of brown sand, which, four hundred 
feet south of mile post 18, is broken by a deposit of white sand six feet 
thick, and twenty-two hundred feet further south the section shown in 
a eCuUteis: 


Lie STAY SAUG ya wale ae aye 0 a 90), a ete 1 foot 
2 wo ellowand mottled sand... bc) 5, eR re ch ee 2 feet. 
3. Stratified pale blue and brown mottled clay and sandyclay...... 2 feet 


These beds dip slightly west of north. 
Three hundred feet north of mile post 19 a cut shows a section of 
thinly laminated iron ores lying over the gray sand and dipping east- 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 93 


ward apparently, but in avery unreliable fashion. T’welve hundred 
feet further south a cut shows a section of: 


PUT IBCEOTAY SHALCG Amemn oval) oo) «ede bnew ROMA cle ieee) as 6 inches. 
2. Red sand, with a small streak of black iron pebbles near top.1to4 feet. 
oMenE OT TAMEMMORS SAN USCORE Naa. hs ek Dk ee eS. ee 6 inches. 
4, Thinly stratified ferruginous matter, seen in north end of cut, 

and extending south one hundred feet, running under No. 3. 25 feet. 


These beds dip south 40 degrees east 8 degrees. 

Still ascending the hill, a cut from twenty-four to twenty-eight hun- 
dred feet south of the mile post, a shallow section shows three bands 
of irregularly deposited iron ore, interstratified with thin deposits of 
altered glauconitic brown sand; and twelve hundred feet further south 
another cut shows a section of : 


METAS ARTEL Te ee a ps aR ah et ie ag Heel uy AMO 2to3 feet. 
2. Irregularly deposited ferruginous sandstone ......... 2to 5 inches. 
es r CItitit 1 Yai FOU OFC» oye see care hile hte el hk 1 to 15 feet. 
feerrten Clea wihire anid, Ted. SATO «550th Ms. 5 ete iSy of < hee we 1to2 feet. 


Four hundred feet south of mile post 20, a well about eight feet 
deep shows the fossiliferous greensand in the bottom, and five hundred 
feet further south, the same greensands lie in contact with the surface 
grayish yellow sands which form the crest of the ridge. 

Descending the hill, the first section seen is in a small cut, and next 
in a ravine about sixteen hundred feet north of mile post 23. The 
combined section shown gives: 


Peeetoertl satid ;oravel atid aron. OFE. 2 se es la ee we te 1 foot. 
eeetreriutar deposit Of latninated iron Ore. 3. ease. 8 Bo) tier: feet. 
LOW SATE cen ares Seer: <M an te Fe Be th “Sel te) on obeys 2 feet. 
Ee LOL OLE Ree eerste ticks) 60 Lire ey Gh «ete. ohk's EPS ar Ph shy Re 13 feet. 
PIPE E TE tlt USGA LICLa! cat Fh Sy ahe chs Vs Pe aa ay ek Go eiy se! tie AEG |, 8 3 feet. 
SENOS SOURS EE keh ft, PPL cela Cg aA Sin St Pe aca Sa 1 foot. 
Bee TALIFECALLeTeC PTCOUSAT Cs fia” Dye nia Pia gates: vgs) okie, celta th de) he eet Be feet: 
EE OTS CCS Char tk Tana St ib analy jets enc. Sein WER eo vee oh Tee py aie ce Ce 1 foot. 
BETeTEC PLCCHSANC HOUr tic hee a) sete ga ee eles et) oe ae ede 4 feet. 
EO RLOLC CRN GM tkll, Walt OTss wie ae thie ie Gt She Ewe ete ele ls 6 1 foot. 
SRST OLE CL OLCCTICATIC (Bart Ma tyne Ca¥ Bat te Ue wo he Meet biG all te Soiect 
LOCC ya tee ho wits ied take ck Olas Pala, RobE srs SRE doce dw gee 2. * feet. 


A cut, at mile post 23, shows the overlying ferruginous sands and 
iron ore sand, on top of the last section, eight feet thick, and twelve 


hundred feet further south a cut, fifteen feet deep, shows a section of: 
Peeebverricinous sand and iron Ore 8. te ee i ew a 1 foot. 
Pei asaive terrnpinous Sandstone .) x06) kj) cist ie ie he ow eens a 1} feet. 
3. Black sand, with two thin seams of ferruginous matter running 
through it, the upper seam being three feet from the top of the 

bed and one inch thick, and the second ten inches lower and 

slightly thicker than the other. Near the base a thin line of 

white clayey nodules extend across the bed. (This bed contains 

very small shark teeth, and a small nodule containing Cardita 
planicosta was also found.resting upon the lower ledge of ferru- 

Rice Ares Lew ey pee. honed pan he ald ye viaeba es oe es 8 feet. 


‘ 


94 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


a. SLROMPOTG Sy, eh ios ew cs 5 oe) oh er Pee 1 foot. 

5. Black sand similar to No. 3 eee elise (Sid ra teh aa 14 feet 

Coy Periuginous sandstone . .. \. 5%.) s este > ee ee 10 inches. 
fae Biack sand, visible... .. .).s;#. 3 ates ene Ree ee 1 foot.. 


The dip of these beds is very slight, and apparently toward the 
northwest. | 

The deposit of black sand does not appear at the ends of the cut, 
but is covered by the brown ferruginous sand (No. 1 of section). Four 
hundred feet further south a ravine shows the black sand of this sec- 
tion to be underlaid by: 


1. Brown sand 
pe White sand: ="... ss eae 


On the south side of the ravine these sands thicken considerably, 


and together with the section shown on the hill above them, on the 
south side of the ravine, gives a section of : 


1. Alternate strata of altered greensand and iron ore, the ore strata 


not exceeding two inches and the sand one foot ........ 12 feet: 
4. ‘Altered greensand of a: brownish'pteen color)... .5. 4.5.05) ye eee 6 feet. 
Du> Thin stratum, of iron Ore. 2.254 ye le, eh sis eae ce 6 inches. 
4,” Altered greensandy 625. el ge. oe ae ae 1 foot. 
0.. “Brown sand 005 eae ee ae Se rao ae 10 feet. 
62" White sand* 192 Sling Ga eee ee 10 feet. 


Going south, another cut, three thousand feet further south of mile 
post 25, near where the Jacksonville and Mount Selman public road 
crosses, shows a section of: 


lw Brown Sandee .c'd GS ee Ra a een +) 2teet 
2i. Laminated. irom ore? iAgeit coe eee owe eee eee le jaca lL Oe eohes; 
3. Alternate strata of brown sand and iron ore ..°... 4)... 4 5 feet. 


These beds dip very slightly toward the northwest. 

At mile post 24 the altered sands and their accompanying iron ore 
form the upper division of a section showing: 
Lid Brown Sand 5.5% A. laetg sakes ea ae oeen er ar aay ea nae aps OT a A 4 feet. 


2. Alternate strata of brown sand and iron ore, the ore irregularly 
laid down and not more than six inches thick, the sand approxi- 


Imatély: two-teet, cc ee tek ae ed ke ee men Re ie ca dt, ke 8 feet. 
3. Greensand, dark green in color, and containing numerous casts of 
SINGH Dival Ve-SHEl Sate gts ting YAO Teac a mie ane te ees on) Lathe) Sanit 5 feet. 
4. Black sand, with greenish hue and weathering green. ...... 38 feet. 
O,) ti nin stratum ofeterrioinous matters. ein teeter fare. fer rotten 2 inches. 
62 Black sand yeahs es Vik en ee ome ig err ne tC ate oS ae 1 foot. 


The dip of these beds is south 25 degrees east 3 degrees. 

At the south end of the cut a small deposit of white clayey sand un- 
derlies the greensand No. 3 of section. 

From near mile post 24 to mile post 27 the country is covered by a 
gray sand immediately underlaid by a mottled sand. 

A general section of this portion of the line shows: 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 95 


2 LESSENS 40 a 0 20 > SH fas Sm od eee 3 to 5 feet. 
BLCLELOCL SANG tsar eee | wg See hy 3 to 6 feet. 
DeEPOLOWNISH YELLOW Gadi... on OT ES es. MaRS 4 feet. 
4. Alternate strata of brown sand and iron ore as seen in last section . 8 feet. 


Thirty-two hundred feet south of mile post 27 a section in a cut 
shows: 


oo DE SS ie 2S 15 0 Nie a a ne Se Oo aa a 1 foot 
emer mini strated ferrnzinous matter, ... ... by ee se 2 feet. 
meritie TOOL Lec Satitt wenn eee see ss. ro. Se aed ae oy Aha 3 feet 
peeeosratuim of laminated ironiore 5 65. ee Des 2 inches. 
STE CTISATIO SC VISIDIG® Shri est banat ails” ot 6 Deas bua ee Ban loners » 2 inches. 


These beds dip very slightly south 20 degrees west. 
The section shown in a cut fifteen hundred feet further south shows: 


cL RGEC TERAS ek 2 Cts F gts Mier nag arias Oa 8 ae ae VO evan eM cata Mead ee 2 inches. 
EE: WIN SON Clg P i Fret pats oN sc in eh wee oo 4 6 IToe of oe Weegee ie feet, 
3. Altered strata of iron ore and altered glauconitic sands yellow and 

PECETIETOL CU atea tes ieee hc yt oo ch Mey ed as ee a Mic DA EF oe eet ee oh gus e 10 feet. 


These beds dip north 20 degrees west 5 degrees. 
At a creek south of mile post 28 the north bank of the creek shows a 
section of: 


BBCI OPSraAT Is LOW iCeMIMi tc tie Pia ht om ieee pe bce ae fee 2 - feet 
pa cllow.colored altered glaiconite s.r ee. 1 foot. 
3. Sandstone, yellowish brown in color with dark iron blue spots. ... 1% feet. 
4. Alternate strata of iron ore and brown sand, ore two to six inches 

and sand one to two feetin thickness. . ... Mss EN 7 NE 15 feet. 


The creek is one hundred and fifty feet wide, and a quarry on the 
south side gives a section of: 

ar etPOu TOWN SANCS(ONG.§. G4 4 we os es we eS ea 43 feet. 
wee vellowish brown sandstone .. bss. we ew es 2 feet. 


Ste a enh saw. ce ery te | fe 


The deposits on the north side dip north 20 degrees west 5 degrees, 
and on the south, south 20 degrees east 3 degrees. At the south end 
of a cut, close to this quarry, the section shown is: 


Pee owish Drown Sandstone oo iis Seis oe pee ee eS 3. feet. 
MERI OCC LOTSATICOLON Gia G40... ol codon «Ser a Sa eis os Sigal ls 3 feet. 
TES OAET SEE ECE BP SUES os Qa NP cia peer ash lt Re cena Ta tht eee, tenfeet: 
UIEARIN TUT LCOCMITONC OLS ae She 0265 es ates) nes Sh actoe ig a Ge he ae os 10 inches. 
5. Altered greensand with small seams of ironore ...... Rt an ee ks 
I iat ret i VOLE We ea tlhe eee ee. Ces bolsters Cee te a eh eae 10 inches. 
A REP eS 2 kc SOP a rs wre ce 4ehis . . 10 inches. 
EDT a tem mner Ceheeaet FV. bere ge shen doce ss Geko tes OAS$ he bid ga 2 inches. 
oemiseTeneteenish yellow Sand... Viet sis oh ick lo ee se 2. feet. 


From near mile post 29 southward; the overlying deposits consist of 
eighteen inches of brown sand and from four to ten feet of mottled clay, 
dipping eastward 5 degrees. 

South of Jacksonville the country is level and covered with two feet 
of yellowish colored sand overlying ferruginous sand as far as mile post 


96 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


ol. Seven hundred and fifty feet further south a small cut Shows a 
section of: 


ie rerrugitious gravel .< 2.4, s cath ia ater as 2 eo ea 6 inches. 
2. Thinly stratified ferruginous sand and altered greensand ..... 2feet. 
3. Fossiliferous altered greensand, hardened by exposure and bright 

red in color, containing only casts of fossils .......... 


Three thousand feet south of mile post 51 the bank of a am en 
shows a section of: 


Ei Red sand oy F.8d oS SR ee Se 1 foot. 
vy, *Ferfuginous material \., (se ee ee ares sie tke 2 feet. 
0.) <oreensand slightly altered \ 7) “eee, he eee a 10 inches. 
40° Ferruginous ‘material a2 adi sap one es eee en a 1 foot. 
5.. Yellowish white sand seen three hundred feet further south 


From this point, to eight hundred feet south of mile post 39 the 
country is covered with a brown sand containing numerous streaks and 
pockets of ferruginous gravel, with occasional DEtGTCS of fossiliferous 
sand. A generalized section gives: 


1, : Brown sarid and ferrnginons gravel) > = aw et 5 feet. 
2, Laminated irom-ore yiak ss epee) Goo re ee 1 foot. 
3. Fossiliferous sand (fossils as casts only) and showing in places .. . . 4 feet. 


Highteen hundred feet south of the mile post, a hill on the west side 
of the road gives the following section: 


15, {Iron oye in* bo wlderar: 4. inh suis Ks ee sn ode ine ee 
2. Ferruginous gravel and sand, ten feet on the top of the hill, but cover- 

ing the side. down tO) 7.00%) 4. Gc «heer gs eee 10 feet. 
3. Thinly stratified red and white sand, seen under red sand on top of 

hill‘at “base ye bees eed Vit teed oe tee a ee 2 feet. 

Twelve hundred feet further south the section shown in a cut is: 

Te Red ‘Sand sero.) ogee mel Bike ate Sale enh oe a ga emer eros 2; feet. 
2. Ferruginotisisandstone (outs os en ie te rete teak ene Le ae oe 1} feet. 


pa» Red sand with white streaks 3 vrei-g. 4c ee Eee ee ee 
Three hundred feet further south, in the same cut, the section shown is: 


Ls Red’sand, with lack iron pebbles. ye cts, eels ss eee ee 23° feet. 
2:5 MELEUPINOUS OTAVEl,».. Fag Ce seek ae) hm ee) aaa ee Pellet eet 2 to 12mg 
Do TOW SAIL .Gr so Abs RC ae oe ae ieee ee whe Sic 32 bet, ny ee 1 foot. 


At four thousand feet south of mile post the yellow fossiliferous sand 
is again seen in a cut showing a section of: | 
1y¢ Red ‘sand wiv yi ae Ceres Meee Pets Oh te) a here ey eee ar 1 foot. 


A short distance south of this cut a stream channel and cut through 
a hill shows the following section: 


1. « Brown sand and-ferrapinonus gravel}... ws 2.) ae 2 to 10 inches. 
2). Irregnlar depositwhi gravel Zoseua e.  yiechs is; takes pea rk 8 to 15 inches. 
3. Altered greensand, weathered brown, dipping 8 degrees south 

40 degrees t€aSts (ecu Cab sisme eerie a ie has Vie: oes, cu ae 6 feet. 


4, Altered greensand, containing white nodules and thin streaks 
Of tron Melee ON Taree Rie ee gD oe Led 59h.) toa et ee 4 to 10 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 97 


5. Mottled brown and white thinly stratified sands. ...... 2 feet. 
peme uty lantitiated bluesand  .. 77.2. -. 6. s ja nlwh vate Bee 6 feet. 
7. Thinly stratified or laminated red and white sand, changing 

to red sand and white clay near railway, and cracked ver- 

Rice yer res tL! penne Mts 6 feet. 


The lower beds dip south 40 degrees east 5 degrees. 
One thousand feet further south a cut in the road shows at north end 
a section of: 


MEOW Masa lANC wITaVveIw tea Nee 6. gb Ge ee aera ee te eek 67 & 1 foot. 
Pamrvemindied iron ore and sandstone. <. . 9s) Jhb AS we es 1 foot. 
mm eered ereetisand. wavey and contorted ..\.- ¢ 60 Wie be See se, 4 feet. 
DEEITT ALE CNIFOT OFC Hai.) Sew iSety oi a esis Ge hac ie Seite es fess 1 foot. 
SEE GSS Te et ethan tel Pe re) jh AS eg ee Beard Peat bier Is ye 2 feet. 


These beds dip south 40 degrees east 5 degrees, and two hundred and 
fifty feet south are faulted, so that the upper brown sands are thrown 
down two and a half feet, and thicken to six feet. 

One hundred and sixty feet south the mottled red and white sand 
appears underlying a yellowish sand. A section shows: 


OWE ST ove tad ae arse ee ee ne oe ieee lo tf: 2 feet. 
Sa COO iten out, (04 meees Poti Ne Aah ty eg ek ee Oe 1 foot. 
Pueotratined wiite and, prowm sand.6 jo oo Fees Hed ie ee oe ee 4 feet 


The same character of material extends to eleven hundred feet south 
of mile post 53, where a deposit of stratified sand and sandy clay occurs 
in the bottom of acut. These beds dipsouth 40 degrees east 3 degrees. 
At eighteen hundred feet south the mottled sands again appear, and at 
twenty-two hundred a cut shows a section of ten feet of stratified sand. 

Twenty-four hundred feet beyond, a cut six hundred feet long shows 
six feet of red sand extending one hundred feet into the cut, overlaid 
by red and white stratified sand and sandy clay, showing the red sand 
strata about one foot in thickness, and the white sandy clay two inches. : 
These beds dip south 40 degrees east 5 degrees, and are covered at the 
south end by a deposit of brown sand, and these in turn are covered by 
a brown sand containing ferruginous pebbles mostly in the form of small 
pockets. 

At thirty-five hundred feet south of the mile post the white and red 
stratified sands are again seen in the same position as at twenty-four 
hundred feet, and the section shows: 


ere ie ee ea Me a, 2 feet. 

Mm ena ifedawhite ang-red/Sand .-.-f fue. wb Gee Ao ea 435 feet. 
At thirty-six hundred feet the section shown is: 

pT Re eet tie ae te es ee ASR Sau te 5 feet. 

SUMENY OILO SAM ress 6) e8 Doh e Fe, \s Ree ce a eigen, palate hake Ta Cotas 3 feet. 


At mile post 34 the country shows a section of brown sand mixed with 
a few streaks of white, and containing a pocket of gravel eight feet 
long and from one to one and a half feet thick. The cut here is two 


98 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


hundred and fifty feet long and ten feet deep. The gravel deposits are 
irregularly scattered through tiie sand. Deposits.of the same character 
continue to thirty-eight hnudred feet south of the mile post, where a 
section shows: 


oe Drown’ Sand .: 5 6 2 ee ee 3 to 2 feet. 

Zsulayer Offerruginous pebblesogs gee a ee ee 5 inches. 

Sry WHITE sand *.).0 00.5, so SR ee ts ese ee 1 to 10 feet. 

The remaining portion of this cut shows a Seale of: 
i> Brown sand and gravel |... AOU ge set es es ee 2 feet. 
2, ‘stratified: brown sand 0.0.) poe oie ee 4 feet. 
8. Unstratified white sand, with occasional laminz of ferruginous matter 

running out at fourthousand two hundred and fifty feet. ..... 4 feet. 

4. Stratified red and white sands in south end of cut, visible. ..... 1 foot. 


Twenty-five hundred feet south of mile post 35 the region is covered 
with white sand overlying a brown sand and stratified sandy clay. A 
well dug in this region thirty feet deep shows white sand throughout 
the whole depth. 

From fifteen hundred to eight hundred feet ort of mile post 35 a 
cut thirteen hundred feet long shows, at north end, a section of: 


de) Brown sand... 4.00. oe). 2 aa eiiteraea nog ae 1 to 4 feet. 
2.. Ferruginous gravel and pebbles, irregularly laid down and 
occurring in pockets of one foot nearsouthend.. . . . 6 inches to 1 foot. 


3. Brownish yellow sand, stratified in deposits of ten to eight- 
een inches, six feet at north end running out at 1140 feet 
north of ‘mile post. 7.) Mily yee eet a conan ee 6 feet. 
These beds dip south 40 degrees east 5 degrees. ‘The lower bed has 
a tendency to become more distinctly stratified and higher in color to- 
ward the base, and at the south end of cut the gravel becomes thicker 
and incloses bowlders of sandstone. : 
Seven hundred and fifty-two feet north of mile post 36 a cut seven 
' feet deep shows a section of: 


~ 


1. Gray surface’soil . 2 oo. (Ais oe eee 10 inches, 
Zo brown ‘gravelly'sasid {1-217 8) — tise aaa eee er et oe gi) ta 13 feet. 
3. Cross-bedded sand containing small nodules of white clay... . 4% feet. 


One hundred and ninety feet south of mile post the section is as fol- 
lows: 


1 ebrown' sand and gravel (vst ee ene! St 2 feet. 
Brae, GTAVEL ee i ai eho bn Ep a PS ll 6 inches to 3 feet. 
3. Gray and brown white cross-bedded sand. ........ 1 to 3 feet. 


Hight hundred feet south of mile post 36 the end of a bed of blue 
micaceous sandy clay four feet thick is seen in a gully. This bed dips 
south 40 degrees east 28 degrees, and is overlaid by three feet of red 
laminated and white sand. A section of a cut near this place shows: 


tq Redan te ns sf eal. thas ek ee en, Big ok lto5 feet. 

2. Ferruginous gravel, deposited irregularly in pockets con- 
nected-by thin seams! 70) A/F Rete eens ee ne CoP) 6 inches to 2 feet. 

a.) Bightobrowmsand:, 2-:. (22) gee eee me Meet, “0, hee 1 to 5} feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 99 


At twenty-four hundred and forty feet the brown sand is underlaid 
by mottled sand. Near Mr. Dial’s house, a little to the east of the line 
of railway, a small hill shows a section of: 


Seeeeertucinous gravel and redrsand .°.- 6 eS Re a i 3 feet 
EER CT AT SUSE AM ice er NOT I, eyes. 3.” 3 ho: 0d PERM DERE Dey Di on ¢ 2 feet. 
MEERA Te Yi VASAT eit oA saw 8. at Raegeh ae e, Satte: Mae Os 2 feet 


The railway line at this place passes through a gap or narrow pass 
between hills rising over one hundred feet above the line. These hills 
are capped by ferruginous altered glauconitic limestones and laminated 
iron ore, and belong to the series of deposits found near Rusk, making 
up the whole of the elevated plateau-like hills of Cherokee county. 

The road passes from Dial southward through a low lying valley 
covered with brown sandy loam as far as mile post 40. ‘Three hundred 
and seventy feet north of the mile post there is a cut five hundred and 
_ fifty feet in length. The first one hundred feet from the north end of 
the cut is occupied by a brown sand containing a quantity of ferrugin- 
ous gravel near and extending along the top of the cut. At one hun- 
dred and ninety feet from the north end, a mottled sand commences and 
extends southerly to the mile post, which is on its upper surface and 
twenty feet along its base. Between the overlying brownsand and the 
mottled sand, near the base, there is a pocket of ferruginous gravel 
_ six feet long and two feet thick in the center. One hundred and seventy 
feet north of the mile post the mottled sand is underlaid by a stratified 
white clayey sand. This deposit slopes upward toward the mile post 
at about 5 degrees, and then breaks off abruptly on the south side. 
The upper eighteen inches of this sand is broken and cross-bedded and 
irregularly stratified. [he lower division is more regular in structure. 
The southern end of the cut is occupied by a brown sand containing 
pockets of coarse gravel, and between the mottled sand and white 
clayey sand irregular pockets of gravel occur along the parting. The 
total depth of the cut, two hundred feet south of mile post, is twelve 
feet, and the brown and mottled sands dip north 50 degrees west 6 
degrees. Twenty-eight hundred feet south the sand seen in a small 
cut is cross-bedded and contains pockets of gravel. Nothing but a 
brown ferruginous gravel can be seen from this point to near mile post 
42. ‘Twelve hundred feet north of this point a section gives: 


Eco EL yEnc yo 2 ra 13 feet. 
2. Red and yellowish brown sand, with quantities ferruginous gravels 

and some bowlders Sar A RAR TS. PRR Slat 4 ts a as ee Puicet 
3. Mottled blue and red sandy clay, stratified and dipping south 70 de- 

a CCL OCR SP west a Ph ay Resi ae eto oso ok a els Drieet 


Four hundred and fifty feet further south No. 5 is underlaid by a 
pale blue, weathering white, micaceous, thinly stratified sand, a section 
showing: 


100 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


Ive Gray surface sand... ': ...s: i ees, | eh ee 15 feet. 
2. Yellowish gray and brown sand, with quantities of ierep alee depos- 


ited ferruginous gravel anda few bowlders of ironore. ..... 2 feet 
3.7 Mottled blue and red sandy clay". it, Aes. st 4 feet 
4. Thinly laminated, pale blue, micaceous sandy clay ....... : 22 feet 


Dipping south 70 degrees east 5 degrees. 

Three hundred and seventy-five feet further south No. 5 increases in 
thickness to five feet. 

At mile post 42 a cut shows a section of : 


1. Yellow sand, with fragments of ferruginous sandstone... .... 1 to. 9 feet: 
2. Mottled blue and red laminated sandy clay. ...... Seto. 14 feet. 
3. Pale blue laminated micaceous sand, to bottom of creek..... 5 feet. 
Twenty-five hundred feet further south the cut shows a section of : 
Deriscay sandy soil...) '. ice tea aie ne ee Ah 13 feet. 
2. Yellow sand, containing black ferruginous pebblesa arses 3 feet. 


3. Laminated red and white sand, in lamine or thin strata of 
red from one to two inches and white sand one-quarter 
torone: inch '):.). 649 69 3 Been ae BS 1 foot. 
4. laminated brownish yellow sand ....... bile Sara 6 inches to 14 feet. 
These beds dip north 40 degrees west 5 to 5 degrees. 
From this point to mile post 43 the country is covered with a gray 
sand, and at 43 the section shown is: 
igi (cee 1 to 4 feet. 


i.)eHard orange yellow sand Gite a ey ate eee 
9 Mottled red and-blue Sanday aacelea ae esc ee 4 feet. 
sre Blue sand; in creek. j+\ (Sg eiaeee ee Seen ees ' AGG ey) 5 feet. 


This section continues two cionsane feet atte and at twenty-two 
hundred feet a section shows: 


1; Gray sand 23.0 5 7. 3 Yc eee nes 2 2 feet 
2. Brown or orange or yellowsand ..... Ramee tid tou Ee 
3. Ferruginous gravel and fragments of a gray avaaeranee ihc. sc ere 
4. Sand, brown on top, changing to gray near bottom ....... 4 feet. 
Ox) -Brown.sand )). 3.0505 2a 1 foot 
6, Grayish bine sand’ 4) (ii) 22k) See) ee 20a a eigen 
73° *Purplish-gray sandy Clay sci py. oe eee eee ee ee 1 foot. 
8S. ’Gray sand. >. 3.3 + oak bo) SURO Wie ee ee Ae Meat ad OR Ee, ie 11" . 10 inches. 
9. Purple colored clay, contain a few leaves in a fragmentary con- 
IOLA shia. f oa.0 its MPM eee ETS a MR Slee os, ee 
TO Gray sand se. oi SP ee etn eee RRL c Laren 


Between twenty-four hundred and twenty-six hundred feet, while 
the general section remains the same, a deposit of ferruginous gravel, 
one hundred feet long and from two to ten feet thick, appears beneath 
the yellow sand, and at twenty-six hundred feet this gravel has thinned 
out to one foot, showing in the following section: 


Lik evVellows sand: 6 hoi go sha ee Aaa ele ea MM yg 
7s herrucinons,.gravel atid ‘sands. 70-0 aan eeeel Rectan et) Reds kos), 1 foot. 
3. Grayieh brownsand ..... May 8 CS ES ee oo... 4 feet 
AS Sra Satcher day fete ela ey Re te ys er Ra SR a I . 8 inches. 
Bi Gravisandy Clay) 45,72). al ee PEATE herly 3. vai, ch ae 4 inches. 
6.: Stratified bine sand jf ou. sy ae Se ee ae ee wa os 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 101 


From this place to six hundred feet north of mile post 44 the surface 
of the country is covered by a yellowish gray sand. <A few small sec- 
tions are seen, but these correspond with the last section. At eleven 
hundred feet south of the mile post the section shown is: 


SACLE eri IICL ON is foe Rr TET ant ge. Sa wy 6 Mea ered eho Meg 1 foot. 
Pemerricingus Sravele a: alts, cee oe ae el ee ye ee 1to3 feet. 
3. Brown sand, with small pockets of ferruginous gravel... ... 35 feet. 


From twenty-two to twenty-nine hundred feet south of the mile post 
a general section shows: 


I ARS OTLCLT MC rarer Uhre TLS Ns Wits tai. wk ohn a: SA) deo Ne gate et eh by ces 1 foot. 
BEericatiC au -TerrucinoOUs SQTAVel 2) 0). eel sa fae bash e) eteMa Ns Gite Ss 5 feet. 
3. Brownish yellow sand with ferruginous gravel ........... 23 feet. 
ER AERC SQTNT Cte, ash s/h Ve sy end eSpnbies ga" aUl8 hal ete ancuie ita ys 2 feet. 


A section of hill near Rusk penitentiary shows: 


OOS OE RAE Big A SEY ISSO nS a Rie Niort See te SIs Ao Revere aa aan ae a ie 20 feet. 
2. Interstratified laminated ferruginous material, iron ore and altered 
greensand, the ferruginous material from one to two inches and the 


oe 


eauG irom six 10 ten inches in. thickness). yf. 0. ee ee 40 feet. 
3. Laminated or thinly stratified red and whitish blue sand and sandy 

AT Ee SC oie eR te G9 Nala ME ies Ae a ene oe ee 20 feet. 
4, Mottled red and blue sandy clay, probably belonging to and forming 

Ses Wer mOlulorl OPeIi) seria be alm. Wut Ren vole ms Sis, ie) ete oh Ais 25 feet. 
5. Red sand and ferruginous gravel, lying around base, probably derived 

POMEL ant DOT OCs rear iace a sci Ub ta Mind wiches 5 Guay ceteris «! \e Wye s 5 feet. 
6. Brownish stratified and fractured sand, mottled in places... .... 60 feet. 
7. Grayish blue stratified sand, in creek at base of hill. 5... . . 3 feet. 


The grayish blue sand, No. 7, and the brown mottled sand, No. 6, 
occur in most of the stream channels and other cuts around the town of 
Rusk, and No. 7 is also seen in a creek near the Star and Crescent fur- 
nace. 

. West of Rusk, and close to a small creek, a section along the Rusk 
and Palestine road, beginning close to the Acme Hotel block, and run- 
ning west, shows: 


1. Brown ferruginous sand, with gravel in pockets. ........ 3. feet. 
2. Brown sand, weathered hard and broken into irregular blocks. . 1} feet. 
easily laminated stay sandy clay) bo5 > ft eke ee 2 feet, 
EI LOW SAIN aie cia) MIL beet a aera Weleda 44 pica Save a a alee 6 inches. 
5. Thinly laminated dark purple and almost black micaceous sandy 

Prev Witieoray sandy) DATINES Ss ho yt leit whee eee Os . 2% feet. 
6. Thinly laminated brownish gray sand. ........... 0... 1 foot. 
7. Dark purple colored clay, similar to No. 5, but containing more 
CO OSE TD AE as a SP) Bee ae ant Saal Cee a” ee © aa 1 foot. 
8. Greenish gray laminated sand near top and stratified at bottom. 

The top laminve are parted by brownsand. .......... 3 feet. 


The white sand of this section appears to have pinched out in the 
last section, and is represented by the yellow sand, No.4. ‘The white 
sand occurs about six hundred feet further west, occupying the place of 


102 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


No. 4, and resting upon the thinly laminated clays, No.5. The clays 
representing No. 3 at this point are very thin and irregularly deposited 
giving them a wavy appearance. A section shows at this place: 


a 7 Drown sand andspravel. | os ..2 ab ere nay se +, eee 3 feet. 
Mere BEQWit SANG Seas ha tela ayics Seppeenne eine Aled \ svat ae nen 4 feet. 
Sy tHiniy laminated Cla yas stir era ist estes tks |e 1 to 6 inches. 
ae hite sande 20) Gy Vesey aL entre st as fall coe a 4 feet. 
5.) ST hinly laminated gray ‘sandy clay wr. 2°. 5) 2 ee 2 feet. 
6./) Thin deposit.of laminated purple clay 2400) a6 1 pa ee 8 inches. 
7. Sand, thinly laminated on upper surface, but without lamina- 

tion ‘at base {Pest ac 1 Pe erate ot ce oe ee 6 inches. 


These beds dip south 70 to 80 degrees east 3 degrees. 

Near mile post 46 the cut shows twenty feet of white sand, weather- 
ing pink on outside, overlying the blue sand seen at bottom of creek 
channels in neighborhood. 

A cut five hundred and twenty feet south of the mile post shows a 
section of: 


Le) Gray sande) 7h Si ey lye hed eh. erage Ed se eg eC a 3 feet. 
2. Alternate strata of sand and clay—clay one to two inches and sand 
from four to.elght inches) “7-37 We can ee ee 4 feet. 


Beds dipping south 40 degrees east 1 degree. 
Nine hundred and ten feet further south another section shows: 


ein Gray /Sand <A eiicse os Ae) ss Eat eee ee ocr aes a 3 inches to 1 foot. 
2. Brown mottled. sattd 2) 5. 4 igisShhr 01 ne eee sere oie mae 2, Leet, 
3. Pale bluish gray clay with small quantities of sand .... 4 feet. 


No. 3 of this section thickens toward the south, and in Baker’s clay 
pit is over twenty feet thick. Five hundred and sixty feet from west 
end the south side of the cut shows a section of: 


1) Brown -terruginous ‘sand’. s7 2. 2. gc po ete eee eee 4 feet. 
2. Mottled laminated red and white clay and sand, the red sand strata 
mot more*than-one inch: thickw. Gi eee ek wes as anes ae 4} feet. 


From west end of cut to this section the dip of the bed is south 40 
degrees east 3 to 5 degrees, and at seven hundred and thirty-eight feet 
east the mottled laminated sands, No. 2 of above section, are broken 
abruptly and their place occupied by a heavy deposit of brown ferrugin- 
ous sand with numerous pockets of gravel. 

Baker & Co.’s brickyard is situated close to this cut, and a section 
of the pit shows: 

1. Brown sand and gravel, with small pieces of ironore. . ... . .2 to 8 feet. 
2. Alternated strata of potter’s clay and gray sand, in thickness of 


clay six inches to one foot, and in places two feet, sand from 
six inches to oneinch. The clay is purplish gray in color and 


contains numerous impressions of leaves .......... 8 feet. 
3. Purple colored clay, containing fragments of leaves in a broken 
and mixed condition, very much resembling drift material . . 6 in. 


4; White sand; to bottom ofpitt eee meme a et ea gia Mes nee 2 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 1038 


These deposits are apparently of a different age than those found in 
the higher range of hills lying toward the east. A section of a boring 
on a hill near New Birmingham gives, according to Mr. Mahoney: 


RLY) Wher nite eaten MG RENEE ar Se, Ss, Sot ach Oe EP MRR Ney gre] wip! voc 10 feet. 
BameuLicaceous Sandstotie, containing iron... 92 Soe eee ss ee sete ee 3 feet. 
oe opera ey END ts yes Ue cn RRS 2 0 a 8 in. 
PRICE COOUISISANC ME Me ra Ts eh ie aod. se het ME EE Ese 1 foot 
Pemmeairered slaucotite, coutaining, fossils... .. swine elise seal soe ss 6 feet. 
CONG wen ee ol SU Cs cet Mein hates pss 1 foot. 
7. Glauconite, altered and containing casts of shells... ....... 10 feet. 
Oneonta SM! MI He Co PO Dy 20 ee 1 foot. 
Mem Ueret gr LanicOnine af 2 iy ein me hie ke eae p aete te se! SS. 10 feet. 
A section in a railway cut east of New Birmingham station shows: 
eee NS os 1s Reis uetia hata’. ..s. 1 foot. 
Wee brown Sstratined red.and white sand (9) wn. ee ek, 2 feet. 
MBLC ET Pt NOVA ISAUAALOTIC Hoo ig Fhe eGR Ste Es Te ae ee ele ee ee 10 in. 
4. Stratified brown sand, in strata from one to six inches. ...... 5 feet: 
MEE TIOTLACUNCCWIHILG SANG Got ye oct he ty Tk So eR Ss Pal Beputie bes 0 2 feet. 


Beds dipping south 40 degrees east 5 degrees. At the west end of 
the cut at section they are horizontal for one hundred and twenty-five 
feet, after which they change both in direction and declination of dip. 
The next section, four hundred and ninety feet from west end, shows: 


1. . Brown stratified sand, dipping north 40 degrees west 3 to 8 degrees 1 foot. 
2. Thinly laminated red and white sands and sandy clays, dipping 8 de- 
ES 8 ep sie FE GE SI Fi ie a a ee INR a 8 feet. 


Going southward, about three hundred feet, a cut shows a section of 
stratified material similar to No. 4 of the New Birmingham section, dip- 
ping north 40 degrees west 5 degrees, and in a highly contorted condi- 
tion. 

Hast of the Tassie Belle furnace a cut shows the following sections 
—from north end to one hundred and fifty feet: 


RRS AICS OLAV EL OFA. he. foes Se ths te eas eer eee ce, in igh ey le fs 4 feet. 
Bemeeiratited ted.and white sand... 5.0 2) he a ke 8 5 feet. 
meee toss-pedded red and yellow'sands. .-.0 6. 2 ee pe ee lL to’: feet, 
MR ECERATE CHEMO SAIC oa Pet ch 5 ke Toe hereto teeny oe ehetenge eee Gat y's 5 feet. 
Seer ower tisisteariied, Sand: £04. 5 tre a i ele a lhe le baetaene s, » 2 feet. 


At two hundred and forty-two feet the cross-bedded sand disappears, 
dipping south 20 degrees east 3 degrees, and the section is: 


SNE CMORIM OTC ravers GN, Se ety ade how Wilby soo ig else 4 eee 4 feet. 
Pee eMinsttatuim of ferruginons sandstone)... 200 Gl. tL. 4 inches. 
Priavined xecinnc white Sand . 6.0 is A tie) Piles er ML 5 feet. 


At three hundred and seventy-one feet south the strata remains the 
same, with the addition of: 
Ar Be ESOT SR Me use inn! See TLR uet, eben, sec te yon cles oh 2 feet. 
Rm erratiied Ted and wilite Sand 6). oo. ctl kak hoe ne ne eh a pee 2 feet. 


Dipping south 20 degrees east 2 degrees. 


104 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


At five hundred and ninety-two feet the stratified sand disappears 
under an irregularly stratified mottled or red sand with occasional 
strata of white, giving the following section: 


Beneeo sand so y840 2. A ie Ce a, eae 3 feet. 
2. \Ketruginous sandstone | :,.) amass eet ists aes Con pe 6 inches. 
3. Roughly stratified red and white sand, with nodules of iron ore. . 3 feet. 
4:..' Stratified red and white sand gy east) fe ages ee 1 foot. 


At seven hundred and twenty feet the overlying red sand forms the 
section as far as the end of the cut. 

Three hundred and eighty-eight feet south of mile post 48, a well 
eighteen feet deep gives a section of: 
J} / Pale brown sand ss) ..)./ eS ised So epee adele Di ade oe 17 feet. 


This section is seen at mile post where a small exposure of the bed 
No. 2 is seen in the bank of a creek, and at nine hundred and thirty 
‘feet south of the same place, a section shows: | 


I? >.Brown sand.) .{0.) Bel ae OL ae ee 4 feet. 
2. 2 Stratified ted: and ~white:sand ass) ce eae eee ‘ead PSPs, 2 inches. 


Dipping south 50 degrees east 5 degrees. These stratified sands 
also occur at intervals until, at twenty-five hundred feet south of the 
mile post, the section shown in a stream channel fifteen feet deep gives: 


1, “Red sand and, gravel *.0) >. eh. tele ce ae aga ee 4 feet. 
2.°s Brown sand, No.) Vofilast cut hyn «ives ties lon 0 ec 3 feet. 
a. Ferriginous sandstone 2th ans tii interes nt dee ace ut Oe ch cer er 6 inches. 
4;* Stratified red. and “white sand giao"). G2) gn ee) ere 3 feet. 


For the next thousand feet the stratified sand, No. 4 of this section, 
appears at irregular intervals underlying the brown ferruginous sand 
and gravel. These sands look as if having a very irregular surface. 
At four thousand feet they are again seen in the following section: 


1... (Red sand-and gravely eh 2-52 See aye a ee ce 4 feet 
Ze, ¥ BYOWD. SANG Fk ened ee ook 1p ik kh eee, ees eae ae 5 feet. 
3. Stratified red and white'sand 5) 2). i907) i. teres «oe Soule er 4 feet 
4, "Brown sand Wie ke i Se os cre ee 4 feet 
5..- Stratified*sand, same as No. 3: 2. #2eitgeeee Cie: viet eee 3 feet. 
6. “Brown sand oh ce Fy ls GN Red iL ies 1 foot. 
«), Stratified clay, ati base 73002640 Ya) Seiemtee Biiaes ee! a) ne 
Dipping south 40 degrees east 5 degrees. 
Highteen hundred feet south of mile post 49 is a section of : 
= ‘Red sand and gravels s.4.75 sec on 5 feet. 
2. Brown sandstone, consolidated toasoft sandstone ....... 1} feet. 
3, stratified sand and iclay 0 ue. a eC ae ee een ae lto 2 feet. 


Dips south 40 degrees east 10 degrees. 
Five hundred feet further south another cut shows a reversal of the 
dip to north 30 degrees west 5 degrees in a section showing: 


1. Stratified brown sandstone and gray sandy clay, in strata of 
one-half toone! inch <3 2k coe ae ie eee 4 feet. 


2.' Gray, almost white, Sand’..:" 5.) oy en ee eet 2 inches to 14 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 105 


In the next section, near Linwood, on the J. D. Jones headright, the 
dip has again changed to south 40 degrees east 10 degrees. Section is: 


1 SEARLE Nah Ay OE | 90S ha aR Led eg et oar le feat; 
Brown sand, with thin laminz of ane clay, sand one- half to one and 
a half inches and clay one-sixteenth to one-eighteenth inch thick... . 
A small pocket of gravel, fifteen feet long and two feet thick, occurs 
near the center of this cut. 
Four hundred and thirty-four feet north of mile post 51 a cut shows 
a section of: 


TCR CE Ta RS or GE Ce REE eked kos bs Koto) a 
Beeberucinons sand ane Gravel. ioc. (0s). peat she ge ces 3 feet 
SCE W SH Toe ern igen octets eo MD Pee ame oe 25 feet 
4. 
5. 


1. Gray sand. BN ERE Fog Mae FRC Mer ON re Oe Id ae Si IA he Te ae 1 foot. 
2. Fine gravel, irregularly deposed MAO, Pt A ae A Ga aa A ac 1 to 2 feet. 
eae rice rity.) 2a hee. Satay AA IN SC: : 1 to 3 feet. 
mmebrowo sand, with white streaks 6.920). 6a ees rls 440 Scfeet. 
cueeiae Satin bottom Oficreek 3s 6 es se 
At mile post 52 another cut shows a section of : 
1. Ferruginous sandstone and conglomerate ironore. ....... iyiieet. 
2. Red sand, with white streaks, same as No. 4 of last section. . . .10 inches. 
Reema y Sand weathering Drowns. 0) 0.5 bis eis a ol ye ee es Ue tect, 
Thirteen hundred feet further south the section shown in a cut is: 
MERE WO SATIN re EL 3 IN ROIS Si ok Bae SM ERNE ies Sa rene 7 feet. 
2. Ferruginous sandstone and laminated ironore............ 4 feet. 
3. Stratified red and white sandy clay, containing occasional bowlders of 
URINE AES COU OU tT TOCUSLTALS Lins. hah. efile ts | de 8h eset eens a Mel ana eet, 


Conglomerate iron ore overlying a brown sand occurs nine hundred 
and ninety feet north of mile post 53. 

On the south side of Berry creek, on the New Birmingham and Alto 
road, a section shows: 


ME EC USC ASCE (20d Pt? Pepin a ga Ew NSA g adie g oo aise te tae AR lto5 feet. 
Sg CT Th Ee APS G Rn 6 eee Lane en eA TER nant, ers, ae ee Deaeen, 
MEE TU IILOTS SatidstONnGay oy... 4 stak a) Seed cee kt we sae elt, sb ace 14 feet. 
MIRE SATIC ON ok tan Oe eee ol oe ale NEAR L oe ee be Ves BRE Te ar eal et 4 feet. 
Seeerminiy stratined or laminated clay... 48 hie toes ee oe 8 6 feet. 
One hundred feet south of mile post 55 is a section of : 

(St Se (6 IN ON ae eee a A Pee Rn Gets halite ck wh oe a kts 1 foot. 
Etced sand. and ferruginous yravel . 20 0. 82s heal Nee Prat 4 feet. 
3. Hard ferruginous sandstone, partially stratified and pitted on weath- 

ered surface, yellow colored with some pale blue spots. ... . Neva Tek. 


From a short distance south of Bradshaw to about a mile north of 
Alto, a distance of nearly thirteen miles, the basal material seen in all 
deep cuts is a blue sand corresponding to the sand seen in the cut west 
of Rusk. 

ALTO SECTION. 

The region around Alto is rolling and covered with a brownish yel- 

low sand. ‘The underlying deposits consist of greensand containing 


106 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


numerous fossils, which in places form the surface of the higher lands, 
and where so exposed are usually of a brown color and have the fossils 
in the form of casts only. Throughout the lower portion of the coun- 
try south of Alto the exposed greensands retain their green color, or 
become grayish green, and show the white shells of the fossils either 
whole or in fragmentary condition. Two miles south of Alto, on the 
Alto and Homer road, an exposure along the road shows a section of : 
Red sand and gravel. .::..° 22, SMP eeSe ec ee ee ee 3 feet. 
Fossiliferous yellow and brown sands, containing casts of fossils only . 2 feet. 
Brownish gray sand, containing shells in large quantities mostly broken. 2 feet. 
Dark-laminated sandy clay. .2. 72° 7. aa, ey 4 feet. 
Dark greensand, containing fossils found in Lewis’ well at thirty feet. . 


SAN cal pees de 


Half a mile further south this section is covered by a heavy deposit 
of gray or white siliceous sandstone. 

Seven hundred feet north of Alto station a shallow cut shows the 
greensand altered to a bright red color and containing casts of fossils 
only. ‘The section shown is: 


Ie Red sand and gravels You g se ee eee ee pics Deen 2 | Teen 
2. Bed of ferruginous matter or altered greensand, containing fossil 

CASES el ees wee ao ako ee aie 2 8 ie 
ot Hossiliferous greensand |) ))).)°))02 4a Sure ee enn 3 feet. 


Going west from Alto to Cold Spring church, a cut at the spring 
shows a section of: 


De Gray, sands. 65) ys 9 Te a Sc ee 40 feet. 
2. Red sand, containing casts of fossils same as seen in last section. . . 15 feet. 
3. Greensand, containing casts of fossils,in bed of creek .. .... 4 feet. 


Near the center of the T. Walters headright, four miles west of Alto, 
a range of flat-topped hills, rising about one hundred feet above the 
level of the creek, shows a section of: 


Wire MT AY SANG yoy one NLT a, = ee 20 feet. 
2. Indurated yellowsand, containing numerous Scutelle. ....... 20 feet. 
Dm COVETER Ip £6 Creek ~)/ sui PS ee mie een otek cael eh 60 feet. 


This brownish yellow indurated sand, No. 2, occurs in the neighbor- 
hood of McBee’s school and on the Waters Berryman farm, five miles 
northeast of Alto, where it forms bald prairie spots covering an acre 
or two in extent. The section of one of these places, near Berryman’s 
house, gives: 


LM Sdilin patehes ag 2. Se a eA . . 6 inches, 

2. Brown altered greensand, containing fossils including Scufel/e, 
SUC WRT dae is Cebeee ae  ES an Sa Ne Mes ae a= ee 2 feet. 

Die. MOSsiliferous greensand. i s5i si i ei 2 Ct aR oo et 40 feet. 


North of the school house, on a hill known as Berryman’s hill, a 
section shows: 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 107 


1. Thin covering of laminated iron ore, with altered greensand, 

PSTD E@UOUS he ee teetrmr eS, oS ee RMS SIO See a 10 to 15 feet. 
2. Band of fossiliferous greensand, altered and yellow in color, con- 

taining great numbers of shells, chiefly Ostvea, Anomia ephip- 

pioides and Cardita. Running through these beds there are 


numerous seams and nodulesof calcite ........4.2.. 6 feet. 

3. Covered up to base of hill by debris from fossiliferous beds. . . 60 feet. 
At McBee’s school house spring a section shows: 

EE SEY Perel Cem are Mris St PIC Re Re SAN drs Ng alte Mar Lines pos ernes” s 20 feet. 
peel deposit Of lamitiated irom Ore 5 oe eb as whe ee 1 foot. 
PCOS ry ttes Sth DIACK SANG*. cin, Pony). Lae e viel ow) ot wi gh cotton ten ee bye 2 inches, 
LO NITe eee sc hs hs es re Re ns eeeh Suid hth mee La RAS ey 3 Sin eae 
eR AVM ae OE Teas eee are ee Pg ig ak bes ce ob 4 feet. 
6. 


PISA A ee aera etre, ee Rh. os ie Cie tls tet EN ig he gM ale ve 40 feet. 


These beds dip north 50 degrees east 5 degrees. 

Going down the branch, a series of sands and clays are found lying 
unconformable to the greensand deposits forming the hill at the school 
house, the section at the contact giving: 


MELLO TSC CIAY PSII eh eh en ce yay rehs e aaah aii a eV Ghee 6 Ma 1 foot. 
DEIN eC aL Kyte Mayne wo Se Se a bth Soe a. Soka ch ees 4 feet. 
Half a mile further the section shows: 
SERED ASLAN Ieee ta De a tee fh a ase ee eee eb ce tee. 1 foot. 
NESSES D0 Bo SS ea Na US a ipaieet, 
Gmtratified and cross-bedded yellow sands .).... 04) 6) 8.3 he a eee ee 6 feet. 
UCLA PE ee eh) PE et Og ire? ODL vm ovialet we -e 8 0” ual, 9” se finch, 
5. Dark bluish gray sand, with thin streaks of black sandyclay.. .. 1% feet. 
ML RIG MELA VIGATICU Rd anc han Mae ce) ley he) 8 el at lec jerre the, 1 foot. 


On Baptising creek a section shows two deposits of greensand lying 
forty feet apart. No fossils were found in the upper deposit, but the 
lower contains great quantities of gasteropods and fish teeth, together 
with thin streaks or pockets of gravel. 

At W. Berryvman’s house two sections shown in a creek bank give: 


DENT TPT SAU Gly Rete thr er Rae ey A RAT became 36 feet. 
PON S(OU Chg gaits Oe hc fc. a We ae PR a aot ae nete eee a lee 10 inches. 
ECRECCER VL ON INEM POU AE. We ERED Sac og lie Pe et give v0), * 4 feet. 
muvee ean and clay in bottom). fei. Se APL ae als oa 

A quatter of a mile further down the stream the second section shows: 
SEAT UIUSA TIC ress ee: oe) SEP de ek | GR RE he ote LG 36 feet. 
ME ME ROTIS COI Ga tats (20 ES oy My) yh watt in) errs, hag cat cen fe. \0 > ot Nm 10 inches. 
ICCC LO wit GATICL picts ites. ceo Lh ak ed let hhh es ateas weds ope te ae 4 feet. 
DIEGO WUGCLAY Lr DOLLOUI cl eke abe an wl is Ss ee ene aes ee 


Throughout the region included between McBee’s school house and 
Cold Spring church, and still further towards the west, the uppermost 
bed of greensand appears to be a heavy deposit of brown altered glau- 
conitic sand, containing Amnomia, Ostrea and Cardita, and calcitic 
streaks of nodules. ‘This is succeeded by a yellow and brownish gray 


108 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


indurated sand containing Scutellw, fish teeth and other fossils. The 


sequence of the beds of this region, so far as yet made out, appears to 
be: 


ewe GrTayssands se 2 oo “To 4 ae en cee er 5 to 20 feet. 
Zeeherrasinous sandstone ”.; 2 iy ae see eee te Ce aera 1 foot. 
e,) iton, pyrites and lignite :) 7a pee gee ne 13 feet. 
4. Waminated iron ore and brown sand and altered greensand. .10to15 feet. 
5. Fossiliferous altered brown glauconiticsand, containing Avomzia, 

Ostrea and Cardita and calcite streaks and nodules. . ... 6: feet. 
6. Yellowish brownand grayish brown indurated glauconiticsand, 

containing Scutella caput-linensis, fish teeth, Ostrea selle- 

Jormis aud other fossils, 19 ee eee, ee 20° feet. 
is Greensands containing casts of fossils. aa.) a ae ae ene 6S feet, 
8. Brown sandstone, altered glauconite with casts of fossils .. . 30 feet. 
9. Greensand, with gasteropods and fish teeth. ......... 8 feet. 


The beds containing the Anomia and Scutella form well-marked hori- 
zons, and extend across the country from McBee’s school house westward 
to the Trinity river. They are also reported as occuring in the counties of 
Nacogdoches, San Augustine and Sabine, as well as in Louisiana, 
still further east. 

FROM ALTO SOUTHEAST TO LUFKIN. 


Going south from Alto, the character of the deposits changes to beds 
belonging to an apparently later date, and at mile post 58 the last of the 
greensand deposits occur. 

Nine hundred and ninety feet south of mile post 59 the country is 
covered with gray and yellow sand underlaid by a mottled sandy clay 
as far south as mile post 61. ‘The mottled clay has an apparent thick- 
ness of at least five feet, and dips south 30 degrees east 2 degrees. 
In a well at Whitehead the mottled clay is underlaid by a black lignitic 
clay. Twenty-three hundred feet south of mile post 61 a small cut 
shows a section of: 


tiyeWellow'shads.., ¢ 06 ¢ J ye lee eee ee ene ee tale 2to3 feet. 
2, Mottled sandy clay... \. 7. p/p ea ees ee ee 4 feet. 
3. Black sandy clay, saline to taste, and showing efflorescence of salt. 13 feet. 
Two hundred feet further south is this section: 
Le BLOWIN SAM Co. sak Ge ay Gla a nn Ne ae es 1 foot 
gue White sand i. el, EO ee ec ee 2 feet. 
oon Uniniy stratified blue sand 1 ./.4e ee ee “gd ost yey ee ee 4 feet. 
No 38 dips north 30 degrees west 10 degrees. 
At Coal Camp a cut shows a section of : 
Pep ouliaCeeray sand). 53... wu. 0. eee a ee wrote: Tee 1 foot. 
Drie CHOW SANG Ye ee se So) a0 ES ai Or ea a es 13 feet. 
om COW SANG. 8 8 i ES tot Se er a es 2 feet. 
Bee Blige ela ye te 3 se ase Lae! 55 RR Ae ea eo 1 to 4 inches. 
5. Stratified yellow sand and white clay, dipping north 40 degrees 
WESUE rc fonirit © yt sb ohpet kr! car e's Oe er ean Oa gee ae pie cement 4 feet. 
67: *Glaye-dippins south:40 degrees east’ 0 lye. foes eae enn 2 inches. 


7. Brownish yellow sand in northendof cut. ......... 1. :foow 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 109 


Hight hundred and twenty-five feet further south thinly stratified 
red and white sands appear, overlying No. 2 of this section. 
Five hundred feet south of mile post 63 is this section: 
1. Red sand. with quantities of ferruginous sandstone... ..... l to 3 feet. 
2. Stratified light grayish brown sand, with parting of white, the upper 
portion having the brown strata from two to four inches thick 
and the white one-sixteenth to one-eighth; the lower division of 
the bed shows the brown from one-half to one-eighth .... . 5 feet. 


No. 2 dips south 35 degrees east 11 degrees. 
Twelve hundred feet south of the mile post another section shown 
gives: 


Meee GAIT Gin yc 3t ar ak fe G2 WP he eee ee eee ola SAL > 1 foot. 
2. Stratified shaly ferruginous sandstone. ... . a Che aie et aA dito 2- feets 
MEEeCUALITCIY GLOW, SANs ois yiicget a Ieee ita one te Mb Oe ale 14 feet. 
4, Stratified blue sands, with brown partings. .......... Booey sa feet, 


These beds dip north 40 degrees west at a very low angle. 

From six hundred and sixty feet to one hundred and sixty-five feet 
north of mile post 64, a brown sandstone is found with occasional 
pockets of ferruginous pebbles, and near the south end of the cut a 
rounded deposit of white sand occurs, fifty feet long and five feet thick 
at center, separated from the overlying brown sand by a layer of gravel. 

Near mile post 65 this section is seen: 


eT RAT Sa iNeed eye elton alse) Voee Ueilel es 3 feet 
Three hundred and thirty feet further south the section is: 

SUN IATCOMOTOWUIGANO tat es) i. dade) Mors ce ve wee felons ea le ako 10 feet. 

Mania y dininated Ditie Sand) 6. ..). cia ep et ele a 5 feet. 


A short distance south the blue sand gives place to a pink sandy 
clay six feet thick, which is underlaid by lignitic material; and fifteen 
hundred feet south of the mile post the section at corner is: 


ESSE OSTEO. od Aa ei a a ee rae 4 to 6 feet. 
MES IStEAUIUGUUCIAY SANG oo. yi) ke ee ee eels So reet. 
3. Stratified or laminated black and dark blueclays. ....... Ziteet 
Twenty-three hundred feet south of the mile post the section shown is: 
Peta SANG Gd ki A) se SAS ht aos a Os Re 2 feet. 
2. Thinly laminated ferruginous sandstone. .........++.+-+5 6 inches. 
Rect ienasdn da iat en ee Me ate Gee alte 3 2 feet. 
DUNNE Sa eese IONE Heaters ord 1s SRO apie ew ea hal mete (laut 10 inches. 


From this place to Forest the country is covered with occasional 
patches of soft ferruginous sandstone and dark colored sands and sandy 
clays, having a very slight dip south 80 degrees east, probably averag- 
ing less than 1 degree, but in places from 2 to 3 degrees. 

At Forest a small seam of brown sandstone showing casts of fossils 
occurs in a cut fora few yards and is then lost. The country is flat 


110 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


and sandy for fifteen hundred feet south of mile post 70. On the south 
side of a creek at this place the section shown is: 
ly oRed sand and ferruginous. gravel [ote ee ra ral is: 2 feet. 
a0 wellow, nodular clay... ~/ ¢ -.) 0 yea pemean ocean eee 1 to 2 feet. 
This deposit is only found within the space of a few yards occupy- 

ing a place in the underlying 
3. Pale blue clay, with a tendency to nodular formation, and having 

a white efflorescence between the joints ........ Ae 3 feet. 
4, White or bluish white sand, seen in south end of cutting... . 2 feet. 


Thirty-six hundred feet south of the mile post, No. 3 is again seen 


six feet thick, the section showing. 
1.)-CGoffee-colored brown sand <-> ("30a 2). 6 Le ae eee 2 feet. 


At twelve hundred feet north of mile post 71 the same clay is again 
seen in this section: 


1. Brown sandstone and ferruginous sandstone and gravel. ...... 4 feet. 
2. Stratified red and white sand and sandy clay, lying horizontally .. . 16 feet. 
3. . Light colored, almost white, sand 3) 22. . 3). 2.10.9 era ee 10 feet. 
4, Pale blue.clay 2 3s. 556.0). ge eee 10 feet. 
0.7 White sands. (9. gase) yr 158 Scie Rec eee 
Seventeen hundred feet south of the mile post a section gives: 
1. Brown sand, ‘with ferruginous gravely 8-207 29 es x feet. 
2. Stratified red and white sands, lying horizontal for three hundred and 


forty feet at north end of section, and then dipping south 40 de- 
grees east 2’degrees 2° 757-2 Se a ese 43 feet. 
From this point to thirty-four hundred feet south of mile post 75, 
the country is covered with brown sand containing occasional patches 
of conglomerate ore and ferruginous pebbles, with the stratified red 
and white sands occasionally changing to a mottled sand underlying, 
and showing in several small creek beds. At thirty-six hundred feet 
south of the mile post a section shows: 


diss Gray. sand tes i) be 29S SOR ae ae ee, Ok 1 foot 
Bie Brown. Sand 0.07 lesih oss kh. ee ge kn ee Nee als oo 13 feet. 
G.7 Sotratified sands oy 8 yo ey Lee 2 ae oie cat 9 feet 


Near mile post 77 a cut north of the mile post shows a section of: 


Ly Browmsand ee et) Oe ee Eh Oe 1 106 feet. 
2--fStratined blue‘dtd wwhite sand. > ee ee cre 1 to 8 tfeet: 
o.o0 yellow andrbluish: sands 2 wees Peer RA Ne is ln lin tok Shae . 13 to 23 feet. 


The upper deposit of brown sand, as well as No. 2, have been cut 
through in several places and the erosions filled with a yellow mottled 
sandy clay, as seen in the following figure: 


Fig. 5. 
1. Brown sand. 2. Stratified blue and white sand. 3. Yellow and bluish sand. 
4. Yellow mottled sandy clay. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. yes ig 


Six hundred feet south of Bodan a cut five hundred feet long shows 
a section of: 


1. Brown and yellow sand and ferruginous bowlders .......... 5 feet 
Pe ROCEME CU StTQU UCC, Gite wees. got 2. i. 6k sak a a ee De ee tae 3 feet. 
Four hundred feet south of Baker’s switch a section shows: 
Peenrown Sal and termisimons sandstone’, . .-1. aivickee sheila ef ah % 1 foot 
feepeiotued req-and. Dine. sandy clay}. .). 0. Senet Poe a 2 feet. 
3. Hard brown and yellowish brown sand, with nodular spots of clay . .2 feet. 
Be IIIB LEC: Dalen ie Said YCIAN 4 0h.) oe Ting Ld Gee, Se May eye erate, tae 14 feet. 
5. Pale blue sand, weathering to a whitish or rusty brown. ...... 14 feet. 


Wells in this neighborhood, dug over twenty feet, show a black sand 
containing large crystals of gypsum. Five miles south of Bodan a 
cut, one thousand feet long and about four to eight feet deep, shows a 
deposit of stratified clay having a tendency to nodular structure. The 
dip of this and the other beds in the neighborhood is less than 2 de- 
grees south 85 degrees east. This clay is also found exposed in all 
the cuts along the road to four thousand feet south of mile post 81. It 
is generally underlaid by a series of stratified blue and red or mottled 
sandy clay, a general section giving: 


meeetotticd atid stratined red’and bluesandy clay: .:.....:..... 4 feet. 
2. Laminated pale blue stratified clay, showing a tendency to nodular 
opp EBe leg oo Spe AMS 2 ah ae oR ORR UR eco on Oia le a 8 feet. 


The overlying stratified nodular clay continues to be the material 
shown as far as mile post 82 where it is overlaid by four feet of red 
sand and a thin layer of ferruginous sandstone. From twenty-five 
hundred to three thousand feet south of the mile post the deposit ex- 
posed is a white clay showing no signs of stratification. A short dis- 
tance south of mile post 85 we find: 
feentouled sand. containing siliceous pebbles. .-.).. 0. Sa we 2 feet. 


2. Stratified light gray sand, dipping north 60 degrees west 5 degrees. . 2 feet. 
3. Unstratified gray sand 


Three hundred and eighty feet south No. 2 thickens and cuts off No. 
3, and at four hundred feet the same cut shows a section of: 


RECESS Sed SS 8 Ra ae de 2 Loe eS re are ee a 2 feet. 
2. Stratified sand and clay, with a six inch deposit of sand running through 
CT ly ii ike a SI ir 5 es i, a ane a nr 6 feet. 


At five hundred and eighty feet No. 2 is cut off by No. 1, and at six 
hundred feet the mottled clay is overlaid by two feet of yellow sand. 
From here to two thousand feet south of mile post 86 the country is 
covered by a gray sand, and at the two thousand feet point the section 
shows: 

1. Gray micaceons ETD Ye Py AT ES ER CU a0 ANE A, hon 9 eo 9 feet. 
2. Stratified ferruginous sand 

The gray sands in this region contain numerous fragments of fossil 

wood. From this place to Lufkin station the country is covered by a 


nb SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


gray sand, with occasional rounded bosses of brown sand rising to near 
the surface, sometimes forming the surface soil for short distances. 
The gray sands weather white, and contain many pieces of fossil wood 
and limy concretions, as well as siliceous and crystalline pebbles of 
all sizes. This gray sand shows also a heavy efflorescence of saline 
material along the banks and bottoms of the numerous dry creeks ex- 
tending through the area. A section at one place will give the general 
structure of the whole of the flat area lying northwest of Lufkin 
through which the line extends: 


1, Pale gray, almost white, sand, containing fragments of gray fossil 
wood and siliceous pebbles, and showing saline incrustations from - 


one-quarter to one-half inch thick™ | 0°51.) 2 2 eee 4 feet. 
25> Thin stratum of ferruginous sandstones) odie ane ee 4 inches. 
3 Pale gray sand, same as No. biysucgews oy toe het 1 foot. 


No. 2 is not regular, but is frequently represented by a thin line of 
pebbles. 

The whole of the ninety miles of this section comprises three great 
formations following each other in the following sequence: 

First. The greensand or glauconitic marine formation, containing 
fossils typical with those belonging to the Claiborne and Jackson for- 
mations of Mississippi and Alabama, with which they may be ultimately 
correlated. This formation extends from Tyler as far south as Alto in 
Cherokee county, a distance of nearly fifty-seven miles. The area un- 
derlaid by these greensand beds is elevated to a considerable extent 
above the succeeding deposits, and topographically as well as geologi- 
cally forms the backbone of this portion of east Texas. At Alto, ora 
few miles south, these beds end somewhat abruptly, and the succeeding 
deposits follow them unconformably. 

Second. A series of sands and clays, beginning a few miles north- 
west of Rusk and passing down through a long narrow channel as far 
as Alto, when it turns southwest. The clays belonging to this series 
are more or less fossilferous, containing impressions of leaves and stems 
of plants, and in many places associated with lignite. 

From Alto southward the same series begins to show itself in the 
form of sands and thinly stratified sands and sandy clays, the clays 
becoming heavier but less frequent toward the south, and in the neigh- 
borhood of Forest the deep wells show the underlying beds to be chiefly 
dark gray, almost black, sands, containing large crystals of gypsum. 
This black sand also occurs near Baker’s switch, if wells reaching 
depths of over twenty feet. 

Third. The great formation represented in this section comprises a 
series of gray sandy clays, containing fragments of silicified wood, and 
a series of dark blue laminated clay, containing numerous small pockets 
of gypsum, usually in the form of nests of small crystals. ‘This clay is un- 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 1138 


derlaid by the black sands containing gypsum found in the wells in the 
‘ neighborhood of Forest and Baker’s switch. 

Fourth. A formation, consisting of gray and brown sands and sand- 
stones, ferruginous gravels and ferruginous pebbles, conglomerate iron 
ore and gray sandstones, occurs almost everywhere, either in extensive 
sheets or in scattered patches, and in thicknesses varying from a few 
inches to ten or more feet. The gravels of this formation are deposited 
extremely irregularly, and appear in connection with the brown over- 
lying sands in the form of irregular pockets and thin contorted strata, 
having no continuous length, and usually not more than a few inches 
thick, although in places thickening to two or three feet. This forma- 
tion has no uniform location, but overlies the whole of the other divi- 
sions to a greater or less degree, and in places it has been entirely 
eroded. It may approximately be correlated with the Columbia forma- 
tion of McGee. 


4 SECTION FROM THE ANGELINA RIVER, IN ANGELINA COUNTY, 
SOUTH. TO CORRIGAN STATION, IN POLK COUNTY, ALONG THE 
LINE OF THE HOUSTON EAST AND WEST TEXAS RAILWAY. 


A wide bottom lies along the south side of this portion of the Ange- 
lina river, and the section across it discloses nothing but a series of 
sands and silts common to the flood plains of every river or large stream 
in this portion of the State. Going south, the first section seen is near 
mile post 123, where a stream cut on the side of the road gives the . 
section of : 

1. Ferruginous gravel, containing great quantities of siliceous pebbles 


and fossil wood, the latter being altogether siliceous and gray 
SGOUMrE Rae See ihn Sh Na) Faia ye 4 feet. 


laminated thin plates and small clusters of minute crystals of 
ARTA ENTREE NEMS Cee Py ai ae. dutta Wile th & y ty, ce om tae 2 to 4 feet. 

A little over one mile south a somewhat similar section is seen on 
the railway. In this cut the gypseous clays noticed in the last section 
are four feet thick, and dip south 10 degrees west 5 degrees, and the 
overlying material is chiefly made up of ferruginous gravel and sand. 

From this point southward, through the town of Lufkin, and as far 
south as Burke, the country is flat and covered with a white sand con- 
‘taining occasional small pockets of siliceous gravel, fossil wood and 
nodules of calcareous material. 

From the records of the few wells dug or bored in this region the area 
is underlaid by a blue gypseous clay, with occasional streaks or pieces 
of lignite. The water found in the wells is saline and unfit for use, 
and the lignite found generally occurs in the form of rounded nodules. 

A small prairie in the neighborhood of Burke is covered with the 
same gray sand showing saline spots throughout the area of the prairie. 
The beds underlying the prairie are thinly stratified blue clays con- 


114 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


taining gypsum, and lie within twelve feet of the surface. Going south 
from Burke, the country continues to fall towards the Neches river, 
and is covered altogether by a gray sand, with occasional patches of 
brown, and small spots of siliceous gravel. Occasionally thé overly- 
ing gray sands become indurated into a soft sandstone and show signs 
of stratification, dipping south 5 degrees west 5 to 8 degrees. At 
mile post 110 a section of the bank shows: 


Leaesrown sand 202" ea ae Beet, ee ke Tee se whan ee a 6 inches, 
2-9 Gray sand with white /limy streaks i.) Wis f0u\ 3 eee ee 3 feet. 
3. Stratified gray indurated sand orsoft sandstone. ......... 6 inches. 
abide or brownish bluevclay jos 27 heey oe eo ee Ryn teas" 6 feet. 


From mile post 103, southward, to the Neches river, the gray sands 
are replaced by a coarse yellow sand, extending to the river at Clark’s 
ferry crossing. 

On the south side of the river the bottom lands, or flood plains, extend 
southward to mile post 101, or about a mile and a half south of the 
river. From this point the country rises rapidly, until at about one 
thousand feet south of mile post 100 it has attained an elevation of 
one hundred and twenty feet above the level of the flood plain. This 
altitude is reached through a series of gray sands, sandstones, gray clays 
and blue gypseous clays. A combined section of the hill shows: 

1. Gray surface sands, stratified at base, and showing fragments and 


large blocks of opalized wood. (One of the pieces of opalized 
wood is in the form of a tree stump standing erect with portions 


of the main toots attached) > oc. 0. nee eee iia a ae 10 feet. 
Wentsray cross-bedded’ sande se yi. ic. ahaa ee 20 feet. 
3. Gray sand ‘with opalized: woods, <u ce ee eee ee 15 feet. 
41e Laminated »pink Clay!) “setl SANA cca OP ae) as era a 6 feet. 
iia, Gray laminated sandi)< \ th.) arte Baht a ee eae tee re 4 in. 
6:: Gray ‘sand,.stained brow <4) 235) <soradiaipaw into) ek eae pe ee 1 foot. 
iu -Chinly stratified oray sand iki that eke seen en al aH ee ed eer ed oe oko 
Ba Gray sandy Clays: 2ic csc) a eee rere ei ns eM ek AG Set Oy, eee 3 feet. 
wy, UGstay, SANUStOnG <2 vy RAN) caecum aa Rea pagan te 3 feet. 
LO “onaly, green Cla yer ss 2.85 Ips Mo laren) pes Olean eee enee Sel (Deas 1 foot. 
Le“eGray and :yellow sand 2:4)... oak i ee en a aeaees Ug 3 feet. 
12 poLight yellow or:cream coloredcolay yee eae eee oe inns be nae 2 feet. 
13; -Thinty laminated, gray sandstones, Wiis westeee aes Bric ne ks 3 feet. 
14. Brown lamihated clay oni 1e7 5) Pannen eet ee 4 : . 3 feet. 
15. -Thinly stratified: white and gray sandstones’. .°. .....4. 7... 1 foot. 
16.° aray sandstone stained: with irongga ba eee eee at iced wil cede 3 feet. 
17. Thinly stratified or laminated clay with gypsum, same as seen two 
miles-north of Lut kiniat mitlepostsl2z2 Orine’.> 0... vss ye 35 feet. 
Descending the hill, a section near Hason shows: 
Da CASERY- SANG oo oN hoe in Tee ee eee ae ee ONN, 0:5 0 8d 1 foot. 
aiLigntcream ‘colored clay. 02 2 augue eee Sea A), ce 1} feet. 
See Lagnitic-material 2G.) re eee ae cee eR Ceo as . . 8 inches. 
4,7 Laminated brown or peaty colored clay. eee eee on th 3 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 115 


Near Fant’s a cut shows a deposit of brown sand and siliceous 
gravel, and from that place southward, as far as mile post 97, the gen- 
eral slope of the country is south, and covered with gray sand and 
siliceous gravel, the latter sometimes attaining a thickness of two feet. 
A section near mile post 97 shows a section of: 


Rego Pa Whe henner iwi att SDR ie eo 2 to 6 feet. 
2. Gravel, consisting mostly be aunts) ished a fossil wood °s3.'. 2 feet. 


Twenty-five hundred feet south of the mile post an exposure, two 
hundred and fifty feet long, shows a fossiliferous limestone, from one 
and one-half to two feet thick, resting upon a gray indurated sand or 
soft sandstone. ‘The following is the section: 


Fig. 6. 
1. Gray sand. 2. Limestone. 3. Indurated gray sand. 
ETA WCSRIL CISA IOT LUMEN EON. CY sO Be BT ES RS wel le de feel Mle fey es a 3 feet. 
2. Limestone containing casts of Venericardia planicosta (?) and 
ABST gta BI | AIRS i al Oe Se aa MeN RSeMR MeN Hine ute cs aka CO Tee, 
3. Indurated gray sand or soft ea Ndstoue Sprig yet RAR ee ree: ee 4 feet. 


This limestone is also found in a well two hundred yards southeast 
of the exposure on the line, dipping south 20 degrees east 3 degrees. 
The overlying sands of this section cover the country from this place 
to near mile post 96, where there is a section of: 

RE EROREUCS COLD tery Set taken oS ae Ae hah TAR Ma ly Mod stoa vivo ge ba eel! S 1 foot. 
2. Brownish gray or yellow Reaaseane! gradually hagre its brown tint 

asit nears the base. The upper brown division is thinly lam- 

inated and contains plant impressions and nodules of pure white 

clay. The lower gray division contains clay nodules but no 


CEE ARS OE Ro a i a a Seams: a. RP ee ley ny hl? FeeE, 
3. Soft white sandy CU it ek Tae coher ates 0 BB uaS Ort. SE pe ake Waa piu Tet: 
PLES DETDIC CLAY yr y tesa) 6) a9 6 yaks ged te YORK, & par aive Ak ACHES, 
Mee eBatUstONe:s « gtr) io Fp fe ist os vot ae ie Se Ne Wad GPa Sea aS a em apes =o 
Dmeross-pedded gray sands oo. fo i eo a fev ean OS LAee Ly 


No. 5 thickens toward the southeast. 
From this point, southward, to Corrigan, the country is covered with 
a coarse gray sand. 


116 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


5. SECTION FROM CORRIGAN EASTWARD TO COLMESNEIL ALONG 
THE LINE OF THE TRINITY AND SABINE RAILWAY. 


This section passes through the counties of Polk and Tyler, the first 
ten miles being in a nearly east and west direction, and the last 
nineteen miles in an approximately southeastern course. 

The gray sand seen at the termination of section 4, in the neighbor- 
hood of Corrigan, continues east for a distance of fifty-four hundred 
feet, when it gives place to a blue clay containing crystals of gypsum, 
probably a continuation of the deposit seen on the south side of the 
Neches river, near Clark’s ferry. The clay is exposed for a distance 
of at least two hundred feet along the line, and is at least six feet thick. 
Eight hundred feet east of mile post 39 the blue clay is overlaid by a 
soft white siliceous earth, with an upper pink division, the section 
shown being: 

1. Pink colored, wave-marked siliceous earth. ........2... 4 inches. 
2. White siliceous earth of the same structure as No.1]. ...... 1} feet. 


The dip of these beds is towards the southeast at a rate scarcely 
appreciable. Going eastward six hundred feet, the siliceous earth 
gradually changes into a coarse, much cross-bedded sand, showing a 
comparatively level stratum of white sand running along the top; and 
five hundred feet further east the cross-bedding disappears, and the 
bed becomes horizontally stratified until within one thousand feet of 
mile post 40, when the sand gives place to a fine white or pinkish white 
sandy clay, which a short distance further along the line is seen to be 
over six feet thick. Three hundred feet west of the mile post a few 
bowlders of gray sandstone overlie the clay, and at the mile post the 
surface of the ground is covered with gray sandstone bowlders and 
large pebbles, both of which are stained brown. 

For the next one thousand feet the clay is seen lying between two 
deposits of gray sandy clay, or clayey sand, which unite and pinch out 
the unstratified clay at nine hundred feet. 

Twenty-six feet west of mile post 41 the surface is covered by a ledge 
of gray sandstone ten inches thick, underlaid by the white clayey sand 
seen in the last section. This sandstone dips south 50 degrees east, 
and thickens towards the southeast. From this place to nine hundred 
feet east of mile post 41, the country is covered with white sand, and 
at the nine hundredth foot mark a small deposit of conglomerate oc- 
curs, made of gray sand and white siliceous pebbles. ‘The white sands 
continue from here as far east as mile post 43. 

One hundred feet west of mile post 45 the surface formation is a fine 
grained white sandstone, very much broken and of irregular thickness, 
varying from one to three feet. The lower division of this bed has a 
tendency to weather in a nodular form. ‘This deposit thickens to the 
east, and in a creek three hundred feet south of the mile post is over 
ten feet thick. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. bE y's 


Fourteen hundred feet west of mile post 47 the soft chalky siliceous 
earth is again seen in the’bottom of the creek where the bank shows a 
section of: 

Seneerery SON 7) Loa ay. at ee Us raw 10 feet. 
meso white stoiie or siliceous: éarth, visible, 2 29590) 4 sah fee 1 foot. 

These deposits dip at a very small angle toward the southeast, cr 
very nearly with the course of the road, which is here south 50 degrees 
east. 

This portion of the road runs through a low marshy piece of country, 
which is evidently the result of very extensive denudation or erosion. 
On either side of the road, at a distance of one-fourth to one-half mile, 
this flat land is flanked by comparatively steep-sided conical hills of 
white sandstone, rising forty to one hundred feet above the level of the 
road. ‘These hills are connected by a continuous stratum of heavy 
bedded white sandstone underlying the marsh, and which appears in 
the bottom and sides of the present creek wherever it has cut deep 
enough to lay the sandstone bare. A hill, one thousand yards south 
of mile post 46, rises abruptly above the level of the road, and is alto- 
gether made up of these sandstones. The deposits at the base are 
from two to three feet thick, but in ascending the hill they gradually 
become thinner and more flaggy, until at the top they do not present a 
thickness greater than one to two inches, and are whiter than the beds 
towards the base. The thin flaggy sandstones forming the upper strata 
contain numerous casts of plants, chiefly reeds, marsh grasses and the 
Sabal, of which last, the specimens found show an immense width of 
leaf, some of them having a stretch of from two and one-half to three 
feet. A fragmentary deposit of sharp siliceous sandy conglomerate 
overlies these sandstones, and crowns the highest points of the hills on 
the south of the line. 

At Bowers the sandstones are overlaid by a broken, drab colored, 
clayey sand, and at one thousand feet west of mile post 48 the section 
shown is: 


1. Gray sand 
a SEESTEIE Gi (sSNA Ap De ORE rent ft Se Se os 2 feet. 


A gully at mile post forty-eight again shows the sandstone underly- 
ing a thin stratum of red or brown pebbles. Here the underlying rock 
has become pale yellow in color. The gray sands cover up everything 
until within three thousand feet of mile post 50, and at three hundred 
feet west of the mile post this gray sand gives place to a mottled red 
and blue sand. 

Going eastward from mile post 51 a section twelve hundred feet south 
shows : 


Men EROOM an O SOL pth) ok Sab y ent dawns’ ee state fs 1 foot. 
2. Dark clay, containing nodules of lime in great quantities. .... . 8 feet. 
 OCSEED Myer Gtetth oh eR i Ie Rt ee nN ig ee ae ee 


118 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


The blue clay, No. 2, is underlaid by a red clay on the south side of 
the ravine, and a complete section of the hill from the summit at mile 
post 52, looking northwest, is: 


Weeputrace'sray Sand . 204... Sule ees Me |e a 6 inches. 
2. Brown mottled sand, dipping southeast 3 degrees, and disappear- 
me one, bundted feet:south ieee ea: J eae 2 to 4 feet. 


8. Gray stratified sand, dipping southeast 15 degrees, and contain- 
ing fossil palm wood in great quantities, with numerous quartz, 
jasper-and other pebbles:.<7.5 eee ta oy rte are 20 feet. 
4, Blue clay, partially stratified, but showing a tendency to break ° 
up into conchoidal blocks, and containing numerous nodules 


of calcareous. matter... 3.) .4. pia ee i ne ee 50 feet. 
5. Red clay, having practically the same structure as No. 4, but 
without the limy coficretions:...5//F 9s, eil ent ue cena ene 10 feet. 
6. Yellow sand visible on north side of ravine ........., - 4 feet. >. 


On the south side of the hill No. 2 disappears, and No. 3 becomes the 
prevailing deposit. The fossil palm wood and pebbles become more 
plentiful, and lie scattered through the washouts along the sides of the 
railway cuts. At Fleming’s the blue limy clay is seen in the cut, 
and the sandy clay continues to form the main deposit to Chester stat- 
ion, where it becomes a black soil, but still retains the lime in the form 
of concretions. Here the black soil rests upon a yellow clay. 

Forty-two hundred feet east of mile post 54 a mottled sandy clay ap- 
pears five feet thick, with pocket of red sand; and twenty-six hundred 
feet west of mile post 56 the same character of red sand occurs, under- 
lying a gray sand containing stray fragments of palm wood. At the 
east end of a cut, eleven hundred feet east of mile post 56 the bank 
shows a section of: 


ParAblack Sollee 2) ea yi fee date pele) ae ta tee ALOE LD aie Se ee 2 feet. 
2.) Black “clay,-inclosing nodules of lime. > (i400) sds te a 5 feet. 
3. Stratified clay, dipping east atasmallangle .....:...5.5% 6 feet. 


Highteen hundred feet east of the mile post the surface deposit is a 
gray sand which is shown in a section ten feet deep, and at twenty-one 
hundred feet the section is: 


1. .Gray sand, containing siliceous pebbles ... 400). eb. et 10 feet. 

Da wwhiteelay, wisible.s a0 205 rae A ee 2 feet, 
Going east to mile post 57 a section shown in a cut is as follows: 

Lae Gray-pand y (Soi. |) oy 006.) 6k ee ae oe 2 feet. 

De at CLAY ace RL sly A vn! pe ta5 ca) el Becca ne Ia A a 1 foot. 

3. Partially stratified mottled clay, containing nodules of white clay. . 12 feet. 


Highteen hundred feet further east, at the top of the grade, the sec- 
tion is: 3 
Te iGray Saddam 2 1 foot. 
2.) Olu Pray sandstone vc wh, Ws ee 2 feet. 
3. Gray sand, same deposit as No.1 of above section. ......... 7 feet. 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 119 


At mile post 58 a washout shows a section of: 


BeAr uioriyisniwitesanny.clay. ...«ci.vieneekeaty ls. 15 feet. 
PCTLILE:SATICN, sp Cae, Prem ame hs. nods) SUCRE Ag ero ee 2 feet. 


Twelve hundred feet east of mile post 58 a cut sixty feet long shows 
a deposit of brown and brownish gray sandy clay folded over a rounded 
exposure of white clay, and resting at each end on a deposit of white 
mottled sandy clay. This brown sandy clay extends eastward to mile 
post 59,’ where it is ten feet deep. Toward the eastern end of the cut 
this brown sandy clay has a tendency to lamination, dipping south 50 de- 
grees east 15 to 5 degrees. One thousand feet east of the mile post the 
color changes to a light gray for some distance, and then becomes mot- 
tled. An exposure at mile post 62 showsa light gray sandy ay enclos- 
ing nodules of white clay. 

One thousand feet east of mile post 64 a gully on the south side of 
the road shows a deposit of cross-bedded brownish white or gray sand, 
fifteen feet deep, containing great quantities of pebbles, forming a ridge 
extending northeast for over a mile. 

Four thousand feet west of mile post 66 a cut, twenty-two hundred 
feet long, shows a section of mottled indurated sand or soft sandstone, 
cross-bedded at the west, but becoming more regularly stratified to- 
ward the center and through the eastern half. The dip is south 50 
degrees east, but very slight. The upper surface of the brown sand is 
irregular and wavy in form, and at the east end is overlaid by an irreg- 
ular series of deposits of pale blue clay, which in turn is overlaid by a 
pale blue sand. ‘The following section is from the combined sections at 
various portions of the cut: 


ray CANC alLseasy end kee Grit Cn cet ok i hee 6to 8 feet 
2. Mottled blue clay,in smallirregularelliptical pockets . . 6inchesto 2 feet. 
3. Mottled brown sand or soft sandstone, broken into irregular 

blocks, and containing lenticular patches of pale grayish 

blue clay, stratified at east end of cut, dip south 50 degrees 


BCR aa AG ally oo od is eae tee gi ete ie A a. EN se) Se 10 feet: 
4, Gray cross-bedded sand, containing siliceous pebbles and 
Poowihwoodrat west etid, of, cut. 0 Are te le bee 15 feet. 


6. SECTION ALONG THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY, FROM 
ROCKLAND TO SABINE PASS 


This line extends south from the Neches river at Rockland, in Tyler 
county, to Sabine Pass, on the Gulf coast, in Jefferson county. 
_ Rockland has an elevation of one hundred and thirty feet above sea 
level, and the country lying south of the river gradually increases in 
altitude until at Summit station, six-and one-half miles south, the crest 
of the ridge attains a height of four hundred feet. 

The gray sandstone found in the neighborhood of Stryker, on the 
Trinity and Sabine Railway, are here found occupying a position at the 


120 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


very base, and forming an escarpment along the southern bank of the 
Neches river, a section of a quarry at Rockland showing: 


LRUOCSTAVISATIOC Sy So. ets Wooly eRe ere tds Oe er 4 feet. 
z. Coarse grained gray sandstone? ... 9 aya 4.8 50 Ace ca ne 5 feet. 
pits tiara bide’sandstone. .) . ‘s'.. Fifisepeet le tetas sit.) ls ieee a 15 feet. 


The coarse gray sands forming the surface are evidently derived from 
the destruction of the overlying coarse sandstones. Sandstone hills 
occur throughout the neighborhood, and continue to be the material 
exposed in the cuts along the railway as far south as the sixty-ninth 
mile, or four miles south of Rockland, where they lie at an elevation of 
two hundred and seventy-five feet above tide. Here these sandstones 
are succeeded by a blue clay containing limy nodules, which is again 
overlaid by a series of blue, green, red and brown, and mottled clays, 
presenting the following section: 


eeGtray sand and ‘siliceous. pebbles’.\ 2. 20s) /.e uses ee 18 feet. 
22iblottled/blue and brown sandy clay... 232) 7) 20 feet. 
3. Green sandy clay, very pale and watery in color’. -3 tet 20 feet. 
ax brown sandy clay... 5.063) .5 > Pe ee 20 ee 
Bene aie Dine sand and clay... .(-.) 02.2 50a eee ae enee eee 15 feet. 
6.8 (Dark blue clay, containing limy/concretions i4je.—-)e ee 20 feet. 
7. Drab gray sandy clay, becoming gradually the same as No. 8... . 30 feet. 
8. Gray sandstones, coarse grained on top, but changing to a fine grained 
Plue’stone at base .. 2. hiss 1 120 feet. 


A section shown in a cut one mile south of Summit station gives: 
Light gray satide) 00 te 2to 4 feet. 
Conglomerate of siliceous pebbles in a ferruginous mattrix adher- 

ing to brown ferruginous sandstones, found in bowlder form 

and in connection with an irregularly deposited strata of fer- 

ruginous material. ‘This bed changes toward the northern end 

to a brown or pale red sand, cross-bedded and interlaminated 

in places with lenticular shaped deposits of brownish blue 

Lay Fen ie ig POAT LY fa ty cae cto Gealal G ke ue ea 10 to 13 feet. 
Occasional outcrops of brown sand, containing numerous siliceous 
pebbles, are seen underlying the gray sand forming the surface, from 
this place to near Colmesneil station. 

The cut, through which the junction of the two railways is effected, 
shows a section of yellow and brown sand twenty feet in thickness, the 
brown sand containing nodules of pink clay. 

The overlying yellow sand is apparently only the brown in a bleached 
condition. ‘The region around Colmesneil is covered by this yellow or 
brownish yellow sand. 

One thousand feet south of Colmesneil a cut fourteen hundred feet 
long shows a section, near the center, of: : 


hil Se 


li’? Gray sahdy Soil in5 We oe tee ve ie eater eet tpt Ace ata > Sone ee 1 foot 
2. Brown unstratified sand...... AG, EA ne 8 Te a oO ee 24 feet. 
3. Stratified brown sand, with white streaks ............. 4. feet. 
4°, Pink colored ‘clay: vas ines eee ann ase acca ons Vee a 2 feet. 
5,” Pinkish white saridsrus ve eh eae a net oe ee te ee 12 feet 


DETAILS OF SECTION. LOT 


The stratification of these deposits is very irregular and broken, and 
the dip is alternately northwest and southeast. One hundred feet from 
the south end the pink clay and sand deposits break off abruptly, and 
the end of the cut is covered by the brown unstratified sand of No. 2 of 
the above section. 

The pink colored clay is the same as the similarly colored clay found 
in nodular form lying amongst the yellowish brown sands seen in the 
cut, north of the station, through which the connection between the 
two lines of railway is made. Four hundred feet south of the first 
mile post south of Colmesneil, a cut shows eight feet of a brown, par- 
tially stratified sand, in which the lines of stratification are southeast 
20 degrees; and one thousand feet further south is a section of: 
BRET PSECU Me I ea Oe PS LO bet ee Be ea eR cle igs 4 feet. 
aR TAY NOEL SIE ee 8h SS oh De PR Os ee ie sok be ME dT 1 to 6 feet. 

Near the north end of this cut the partially stratified brown sand is 
seen in a gully underlying No. 2, and twenty-two hundred feet further 
south a small patch of this brown sand appears under a gray sand 
showing small outcrops of clay, and fourteen hundred feet still further 
south a section shows the stratified brown and blue sands changing 
into a mottled sand, dipping south 40 degrees east 8 degrees. Two 
and a half miles south of Colmesneil this section occurs: 


RDIIIWH Salle partly stratined so) slikwie ale ek er 4 feet. 
Pmmie Clay, containing limy nodules iG f6 i ee wae 20 feet. 
2. Brown sand, in gully at north side of hill, stratified. ........ 10 feet, 


Half a mile further south another cut shows the upper two members 
of this section only. ‘The brown sand is three feet thick, and the blue 
clay eight feet. 

Three and one-half miles south of Colmesneil a cut eight hundred 


feet long shows a section of : 

Ese VIACL re RM ETA, 0M rid cet ih Vedio aes pke vid eo tes ew Gye ee 1 foot. 
(oe PE MID Se Era Te RR RSS ood od Nea UE a 4 feet. 
3. Brown laminated sand, dipping south 40 degrees east 5 degrees . 3 to 10 feet. 
4, Brown sand, with pale blue clay streaks, dipping south 40 degrees 


east 8 degrees, and running out at four hundred and fifty feet . _A feet. 
5. Brown sand with a pinkish shade, ten feet at north end, running 

PeeateCOMmaMMaren meet: fo 4cbak iN Gen crai at fe Oat ae eo alates 1 to 10 feet. 
6. Thinly stratified blue clay and red sand, seen in north end of cut . 6 feet. 
7. Blue clay with lime nodules, seen in gully atnorthend. .... 6 feet. 


This blue clay, No. 7, is apparently the same bed as seen overlying the 
gray sandstones on the north side of the hill at Summit and in the 
other sections southward as far as the last. It is last seen about two 
miles north of Woodville, but occurs in wells at that place, a section 
of a well at Woodville showing: 


RY SOME CAMOMLOATI GS Ly aye avs els auieice, ea ue keg es Seo 30 feet. 
USAR CT 08, A GEESE Se aoe ee aa erate Ca 6 feet. 
SEO WIN CEU ETIOW, BANC ii fy Wei best cP telat Bee fedieers;e< arcs oe tes 4 to 14 feet. 
BENS LEW. ae KUO berg CO. (ai) ater ie ead SIRO ETA SS. kad My GN Ua 


122 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


One thousand feet south of the first mile post south of Woodville a 
small cut shows a section of : 


PreeMattied sand . 0.0. 6 SE ee oe Sk  , 6 feet. 

OPEC. CLAY.) 8 .c.47 oer a Sa eS Be eS 2 feet 
And two miles north of Seneca the general section is: 

POW! SAtids,...... << gh ges Myon StmAR hei he, cin an 3 feet. 

2.' “Bowlders of gray sandstone, stainedjbrown’...)..) 5. ee ON 

5.» Brown sand, containing white nodules </). 2.) «. 2. oes ee 6 feet. 


From here to half a mile south of Seneca the sands are mottled red. 
and blue, changing first to a pinkish hue, and then white, with small 
red spots running through the white, and having a yellow or orange 
tint on the top of some of the higher points. One and a half miles 
south of Seneca a cut eighteen hundred feet long and fifteen feet deep 
in places shows a general section of : 


He Yellow sand (00. fon. ota es ae 2 feet. 
2. i Mottied pink and white sand).)..) 2°53 Ue 2 feet. 
Savcrown sand . .. 0.2 bi eu hee Jeune atone se 1l feet 
4) Pink sand, showing near north end Ofcuts. ae) ee 2 feet 


No. 4 is irregularly laid down, and appears in places throughout the 
cut, and near the center rises in a rounded form almost to the top. 
Ferruginous gravels and pebbles of quartz, etc., occur scattered through 
this deposit as well as in the brown overlying sand, No. 5. 

From this place to one mile north of Hillister the country is hilly, 
the hills being generally of a rounded form. Great quantities of fer- 
ruginous and quartzose pebbles and gravel occur scattered throughout 
the region. One mile north of Hillister the. mottled brown and white 
sand is again seen. This mottled coloring gradually changes to a 


white partially stratified sand, and again to a mottled sand. A section 
shows: 


Wee Mstay SANG i. ee ela Se Gd ig aI eee ne eee oa 3 feet. 
Ore Mottledyellow sand (2s se en ee ee 3 feet. 
3. Mottled brown and white sand, white for two hundred feet in center 

OTC ek ee a oe ee 4 feet. 


From here to Warren the line passes through heavy deposits of yel- 
lowish gray sand, and at Warren the only section seen is: 


Peeivellowrsandihs> Gc! se ok Me ee ee _ ,8 to 5 feet. 
2 Mottled sand 2 to 4 feet. 


Joe eo ee a ein Oe ee ee a eC Yee Pe er ary Ue ey a PE oor Ie ek og 


Going south from Warren, the gray and yellow sands are seen about 
one mile south of the station. In this place a thin line of ferruginous 
gravel forms the parting between the two deposits. 

Half a mile south of Hyatt the section is: 

1. Gray sand on top of grade, one mile from station. ......... 4 feet. 
2. Yellow sand, with great quantities of ferruginous gravel and pebbles. 3 feet. 
3: eMottledi Sand aise aire sie eo rh oe et ee .. . A feet. 


The gray sand continues from here to Long, and one mile south, near 


‘=A ," 


DETAILS OF SECTION. 123 


the north side of Village creek, the gray sand appears underlaid by a 
mottled sand. A well at Long, thirty feet deep, shows a yellowish 
gray and mottled sand throughout its whole depth. On the south side 
of Village creek, and extending southward to near Plank or Nobles’ 
station, a section shows: 
EOCUTICOCLIC ality Mane MRON NR SCA so Re Se aed 2 to 10 feet. 
2. Pale blue laminated clay, showing at different places through the 

Pir euit eavicstiatwrorttendy \.0 1). .! . |. ates Meena 2to 4 feet. 

The only other cut seen on this portion of the road is fifteen hundred 
feet south of Kountze station, where the section shows a yellow loamy 
sand with light gray spots, and slightly mottled in the lower division. 
The yellowish gray sand continues as far south as half a mile north of 
Pine Island bayou, where this section was seen: 
MEE ey SE EUNM IRs Ce.) ea ole ae. Dae ek eR Ae Blac ae week VEL ngs a 15 feet. 
ee TiCevemOwW Sticaked Clayy 2.6) fo Qo siole wliclnu des eee er ke gues 5 feet. 

On the north side of the bayou, near the ferry, the clay seen is a 
mixture of pink and blue, the blue largely predominating. 

From Pine Island bayou to twelve miles south of Beaumont the 
country is a level prairie, underlaid by laminated blue clay, which is 
rarely seen, and southward from the prairie the country to the coast is 
a low flat region mostly marshy. 

The only point of interest connected with this section is the occur- 
rence of ferruginous gravel as far south as Hyatt, and the occurrence 
of the quartz pebbles, so plentiful throughout the northern portions of 
East Texas, at their most southerly point near Hillister, where they 
are found in profusion. 

The sequence of the disappearance of the gravels in this region is 
remarkable, as being the reverse of that generally found elsewhere 
throughout Eastern Texas. In going southward the siliceous gravels 
disappear near Hillister, while ten miles further south the last of the 
ferruginous gravels occur. ‘This would seem to indicate that some- 
where toward the east there is a local origin for these ferruginous peb- 
bles. } 


124 SECTION FROM TERRELL TO SABINE PASS. 


ELEVATIONS OF STATIONS AND OTHER POINTS ALONG THE LINE OF 


THE FOREGOING SECTION. 


Hleva- 


Station. | tion, Authority. 

Terrell Sate lke a BD emerad OP a ethics ai wae, 
Contact between Cretaceous and Texas and Pacific Railway. 

aertiary <0: 500 \Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Burnett Hill . 546 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Muddy Cedar 465 |Texds and Pacific Railway. 
UTTAR? Uist." - 510 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
OUD Scr es 510 /Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Rocky Cedar . 490 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Wills Point 530 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Edgewood . 460 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Srevevuson e,)..°': 465 |\Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Bolton Switch . 460 Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Grand Saline 408 Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Silver Lake. . 370 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Sabine river. . 310 ‘Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Macks. . 380 |Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Mineola . .... ..| 415 (Texas and Pacific Railway. 
Paria. AS, at? gory) Penne 421 International and Great Northern Railway, 
Sabine river... .... . .{| 812 |Internationaland Great Northern Railway. 
Railway tank north of Lindale| 420 |International and Great Northern Railway. 
Tindale . . ...... .| 547 |Internationaland Great Northern Railway. 
BOVCATLUSO a Pcl 9 fle olla sph Vet 491 |International and Great Northern Railway. 
Hill west of Swann 600 |International and Great Northern Railway 

. and by barometer. 

Tyler... ....... ..{ 6525 |International and Great Northern Railway. 
Tyler, International and Great 

Northern Railway crossing .| 610 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
PNSITODALC Lets 2 ales Aer s . .. .{ 580 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
NET RY Akh : 560 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
LED EG Bere a eae Rex 5 . . .| 540 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
Mount Selman: .. geen 730 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
ihe g bse Ey ... ..{| 740 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
pacesonyille liye, eee 530 |Tyler Southeastern Railway, 
Jacksonville © 4) c7.. 72800 @" oe 525 |International and Great Northern Railway. 
PGependence ..9 7 caren means 500 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
Ue i AS ae a Cady PCS . .. .]| 540 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
Bracsna Ws '.)) 5 een see eee 570 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
TR USIc/Wse york Ge as ip ... ..{ 540 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
New Birmingham ie. 9 ga 600 |lyler Southeastern Railway. 
LAN WOO G29 oe hay ene 580 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
PLEDUCNS 34, oy eye a Paar 460 ‘Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
BTR Peet tte, Ltn rs 460 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
McBee’s school 460 |Barometric measurement based on Tyler 

Southeastern Railway line. 

ROUINC AND arene eats ta, ray ie, 380 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
ACOMTET he Otis Riana th brah? lel ie 300 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
ROSTER OGY ers et ale ts i Ye 300 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
AV ELIS bist. ees ..... «| 850 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
BOGART RAs vate Walt ta Ce . .| 3860 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
PACT did Mates oh ais fs) tents Lake 380 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
I ANSONS Hrs eae oe po te . .| 400 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
DLT Ua is wet eee, ramen 350 |Tyler Southeastern Railway. 
Lufkin, crossing Houston East 

and West Texas Railway. .| 326 Houston East and West Texas Railway. 
Buse EL emits, cists, Sy etre 270 Houston East and West Texas Railway. 
epee TVET ES hil fd is 150 |Houston East and West Texas Railway. 
LOT ORMIOR OO AS 30010. ae 270 |Houston Kast and West Texas Railway. 
POASORIanieet akl re sites 250 |Houston East and West Texas Railway. 


TABLE OF ELEVATIONS. 125 


ELEVATIONS OF STATIONS, ETC.—continued. 


Station. leg Authority. 

Smet ss cays | cane aerens 220 |Houston East and West Texas Railway. 
SPEND sco ie 3). kaos 220 | Houston East and West Texas Railway. 
Corrigan, at Trinity and Sabine 

Railway crossing. ..... 233 |Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
Bieniaiive creekiri i's A": 185 Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
em a Pe io) at cat ap eM Oy Oe 207 | Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
Pete. 2h Ye cea x. Yuk oy Saat 263 |Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
REE! Yin knee yee ie oh ee he 240 Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
JU Ege SES la eg . .| 227 |Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
LO) SR Ba an 245 Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
UV OE VSS 97 a A A 217 Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
nay Age Se es Pe 282 Trinity and Sabine Railway, 
LS oe BS SR a . .| 200 |Trinity and Sabine Railway, 
RerLetesneir sh 5's, ... .| 800 Trinity and Sabine Railway. 
Reimer ATR es Foe oy ail d's ‘, .| 125 Southern Pacific Railway. 
CR Ge | ee 400 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
So STC GS 8 en ae a eee 230 Southern Pacific Railway. 
Tee rE 5g) eh paths Ace 250 |Southern Pacific Railwav. 
ToC Sy sete YOR vn ae . . | 190 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
Beeretee st oA RAT 150 Southern Pacific Railway. 
eres. SS Wp tes 120 Southern Pacific Railway. 
menee Mills. oy SN. 110 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
IM ne ges Nese pa 110 Southern Pacific Railway. 
Village creek bridge... . . 70 Southern Pacific Railway. 
PaaS oS yo Vis od oe dhs 115 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
Serer. 5 noms AL Ot and . .| 110 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
CUS Gs 8 a Se . . .| 100 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
LOS, i Alle ee aan totale 100 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
PNR BN UE Sie nn ne 42 o> 90 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
CRU Ageone eam Ap is. Os. 70 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
NVR ISOMER Abt Lalli ol eis ae a 3 65 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
Pee Se NTIS | nce iin Eris sia' 40 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
Rey eee PTS ey hel 35 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
Pine island ‘bayou... 9... +... () |Tidal water, Southern Pacific Railway. 
Bee OIONE ochre. veewue *s 25 |Southern Pacific Railway. 
SERINEREASS DY ty tacts, og 5 |Southern Pacific Railway. 


REPORT 


ON THE 


GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND GEOLOGY 


OF THE 


LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS 
GEOLOGY OF THE COUNTRY WEST OF THE PLAINS 


W. F. CUMMINS. 


REPORT 


ON THE 


GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND GEOLOGY 


OF THE : 


LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


BY W. F. CUMMINS. 


The name Llano Estacado, or Staked Plains,* is applied to the high 


*ORIGIN OF THE NAME.—The origin of the name, ‘‘Llano Estacado,’’ or 
“‘Staked Plains,”’ is not definitely known. There are a number of traditions, but 
after having examined thoroughly every one I could hear of, and failing to estab- 
lish the authenticity of any one of them, the matter still remains in doubt. 

Mr. Kendall, who traveled with the Santa Fe expedition from San Antonio to 
Santa Fe, in 1842, and afterwards wrote and published a report of the expedition, 
says: “This Plain was called Llano Estacado (Staked Plains) by the New Mexi- 
cans.” (Vol. I, p. 219.) He gives no information, however, as to the origin of 
the name. 

Captain R. B. Marcy says: ‘‘I was told in New Mexico that many years since 
the Mexicans marked out a route with stakes across this Plain where they found 
water; and hence the name by which it is known throughout Mexico of El Llano 
Estacado or Staked Plains.’’ (Marcy’s Explorations of Red River, p. 92.) 

Captain Marcy gives no date where, nor direction in which this route was 
staked out, and so there is no way to verify his report. 

In the Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol. II, p. 8, in a report made by Captain 
Pope, he says: ‘Upon the eastern or left bank of the River Pecos commences 
the Llano Hstacado, or Staked Plains, which derives its name from an early 
tradition that in early times the Spaniards staked a road on it from San Antonio, 
Texas, to Santa Fe, in New Mexico.”’ 

There is no authentic information that there ever was such a road staked off, by 
the Spaniards or anybody else, between those two places across the Plains, but 
the route of travel was down the Rio Grande, and it is not probable that such a 
road was made, for the reason that a much better way, with plenty of water, could 
be found along the Pecos river. ; 

In ‘‘Notes Taken,’’ by Parker, p. 161, he says: ‘‘It is said that formerly a road 
was staked off across the Plains by the old Mexicans for the use of traders, hence 
its name.’’ 

He does not give any date or direction in which the road was supposed to run, 
so there is no means of testing the truthfulness of this tradition. 

In a circular issued by the Union Pacific Railroad, the writer says: ‘It is re- 
lated that the fathers, in 1734, ex route from Santa Fe visiting San Saba, set up 
stakes with buffalo heads, so that others might follew the trail, and hence the 
name.”’ 

This statement is probably taken from Thrall’s History of Texas, who says, on 
p. 23: “It is conjectured that im 1734, when the fathers from Santa Fe visited 
San Saba to establish a fort and mission, they set up stakes with buffalo heads on 


1308." LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


plateau in the northwestern part of Texas and eastern New Mexico. 
It is situated between 100 and 108 degrees west longitude and 30 and 35 
degrees north latitude. ‘The plateau terminates abruptly on three sides, 
the east, north and west, in bold, precipitous escarpments ranging in 
height from one hundred and fifty to four hundred feet. On the south 


them, so that others might follow their route. This gave the name Llano Esta- 
cado to the plateau crossed.’’ 

As the mission and fort of San Saba was not established until 1757, and not by 
the fathers from Santa Fe, but by the fathers from what is now the eastern part 
of Texas, this conjecture can not be true. 

In a recent private letter from Amando Chaves, Superintendent of Public In- 
struction of New Mexico, he says: ‘‘It is reported that a party of Spaniards, 
who had come to this country for the purpose of mining for gold, made a camp 
near where old Fort Sumner is now situated, and not finding any gold, they got 
in very destitute circumstances, and when a party of Comanches came from their 
hunting grounds somewhere to the east, part of the Spaniards returned with them 
to get supplies, and after securing a quantity of dried buffalo meat they under- 
took to return to their camp on the Pecos, when they became bewildered on the 
Plains, and separated into different parties. One of the parties reached the 
camp, and on returning to hunt for and assist their lost comrades, they loaded 
some of their mules with stakes, and at given distances set up stakes and sur- 
rounded them with mounds of earth, so that they might be enabled to retrace 
their steps, and in this way the Plains came to be called the Llano Estacado.”’ 

As no dates are given, nor the exact direction in which this road was made, 
there can be no particular certainty attached to this tradition from the ‘‘Oldest 
Inhabitant.”’ 

In 1540, Coronado went into winter quarters on the Rio Grande, near the 
mouth of the Pecos river. In 1541 he crossed the river and traveled in a north- 
east course on to the Plains, and continued probably as far north as Kansas. On 
the way he saw a great many buffalo and prairie dogs and found Indians living in 
tents of skins. 

That route would have taken him only across the lower plains, and where he 
would have encountered the buffalo in the vicinity of Big Springs, and that may 
have been then, as it was afterwards, the hunting-grounds of the Comanche In- 
dians. That tribe,in later years, occupied a large district of country and had 
their principal towns along the upper Red River. The range of the buffalo was 
never much south of Big Springs, and did not extend further than sixty or sey- 
enty miles west of the eastern escarpment of the Staked Plains. 

Now if these Spaniards established their camp, as Mr. Chaves suggests, in the 
vicinity of where Fort Sumner was afterwards built, in order to reach the hunt- 
ing grounds of the Comanches a part of the Plains would have had to be crossed 
over, which would give to the tradition some plausibility. 

In Coronado’s journal of his trip, in 1541, he speaks of crossing a great plain 
where there were a great many oxen with bent backs, and small animals living 
in burrows in tbe ground, and that the Indians killed many of these oxen and 
made tents of their skins. He further says that there were no trees by which to 
make their way, and in order that they might be able to find their way back if 
necessary, they built great heaps of ox dung to mark their way, This may have 
given rise to the name or to the tradition that is still held in New Mexico that 
on an expedition to the Indian country they carried stakes and set them up. 

Another theory has been given by Mr. J. W. Hawes in the American Encyclo- 


- 


‘NOANVD OONVIA LV SNIVId GHNVIS AO d'uvos 


DESCRIPTION. 131 


‘side the descent is more gradual, and the boundary not-so well defined. 
It is but a remnant of a once very extensive area, reaching from its 
_ present terminus on the south far to the northward, and from the Gua- 
dalupe mountains on the west to an unknown shore-line east of its 
present limit, as is clearly indicated by the extensive plains now lying 
north beyond the Canadian river, east between the headwaters of the 
Colorado, Brazos and Red rivers, and west beyond the Pecos. At 
present the plateau extends irregularly one hundred and sixty-five to 
two hundred miles from east to west, and about two hundred miles from 
north to south. 
The following is a more definite statement of the boundary of the area, 


pedia, 1881, p. 670, who says: ‘“I'he Llano Estacado or Staked Plains (so called 
from the great abundance of Yucca.stems resembling stakes) extends. from the 
Rio Pecos, in New Mexico, on the west, to the headwaters of the Colorado, Bra- 
zos and Red rivers on the east, and from the valley of the Canadian on the 
north to the Pecos on the sonth.”’ 

This theory will not bear the test of examination, for the arnnie reason that 
the Yucca plant with its stake-like stems does not grow upon: the high plateau of 
the Staked Plain, but is very abundant west of it. 

Another tradition is 3 this, given in a communication published in the Dallas 
News: 

‘*The Indians crossing into New—then a part of Old—Mexico in any kind of 
weather used neither guide nor compass, but the Mexicans attempting the same 
in buffalo hunting and trading expeditions would invariably get lost and fre- 
quently perish. To avoid this they drove down a stake—estaca—at the edge of 
the plain, another further on, from which the first could be plainly seen, and so 
on, ad infinitum, so that they could retrace their path in case they found no 
water. * * * Of course after the trails by the principal water holes became 
- distinctly worn the stake system was discontinued, but the name survived. I 
was told this by an old Mexican living at Puerto de J,una (Door of the Moon) and 
who had crossed the Plains long ere Stephen F. Austin ever set foot on Texas 
soil.” 

Yet another theory is that it was so named from the fact that there are high 
escarpments on three sides of it, which at a distance have the appearance of huge 
fortifications. 

It is suggested that the word from which our Staked Plains is derived is not the 
one that was originally used. That instead of Llano Estacado it ought to be 
Llano Estacada. Estacado is the perfect participle of estacar, which means 
staked plains. Estacada in the Spanish language means a palisade, and it is 
supposed that the term was used in reference to the Staked Plains in the accom- 
- modated sense in which we use the term palisade in the English language. 

It is supposed that the two words became confounded and changed at some 
later period, and that some one in attempting to explain the origin of the then 
used term estacado invented the theory of putting stakes across the Plains as 
guides. 

No matter what may tes been the origin of the term, nor whether the name 
has been properly handed down as originally used or not, the name Llano Esta- 
cado or Staked Plains has been so long used and so well established in the litera- 
ture of the country that it would be useless to attempt to substitute another name 
now. 


132 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


taken from observations made during the past year’s field-work: Begin- 
ning at Big Springs, in Howard county, north to Gail, in the center of 
Borden county; thence north to Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos, 
near where the west line of Garza county crosses the river; thence north- 
west to Salt Fork of the Brazos, near the south line of Crosby county; 
thence northeast and north, passing fifteen miles west of Matador, pass- 
ing Connellee’s peak, and crossing Pease river to the Quitique ranch. 
At ten miles further north the foot of the Plains turns almost abruptly 
west, caused by the erosion of the Palo Durocanyon. The high plateau 
- can be seen to the northwest at about twenty miles distance; thence 
almost directly north, crossing the Fort Worth and Denver City Rail- 
road at Goodnight, and thence north to a few miles south of the Cana- 
dian river; thence turning westward parallel with the Canadian river 
and at a distance of from ten to twenty miles from it, trending southward 
to the west line of Texas, in Oldham county; thence a little south of 
west to a point south of Tucumcari mountain, in New Mexico; thence 
westward about twenty miles to the northwest corner of the plains; 
thence a little east of south, parallel with the Pecos river, and at a dis- 
tance of twenty-five to thirty miles east of it, to the Horsehead crossing, 
at the southeast corner of Ward county. 

Within these limits is embraced the territory of the Staked Plains, 
except that of the southern extension, which can hardly be determined, 
from the fact that the surface of the country descends so gradually in 
that direction. , 

On the map, Plate No. IV in this report, the boundary of the Staked 
Plains is indicated, but it is intended only to give a general idea of it. 
The exact lines could not be drawn without an accurate topographical 
survey, which we did not attempt to make. 


TOPOGRAPHY. 


The Staked Plains is one immense plateau with a gentle inclination 
from northwest to southeast. It isso level apparently as to produce the 
peculiar appearance of being up-hill in every direction, and its inclina- 
tion is only determinable by instrumental measurements. The follow- 
ing altitudes show the gradual slope: 


Clarendon, east of the northeast corner of the Plains. ........ 2734 feet. 
Amarillo,.on edge of Plains in northeast = aa)... 3 2 ae eee 3630 feet. 
Top of Plains at Fossil creek, extreme northwest. .......... 4520 feet. 
Top of Tucumcari mountain, west of last point .........4.. 4720 feet. 
Midland, in southeast, on Texas and Pacific Railroad. ........ . 2780 feet. 
Warfield, west of Midland, on Texas and Pacific Railroad. ...... 2875 feet. 
Odessa, west of Warfield, on Texas and Pacific Railroad.. . .. ./. 2900 feet. 
Duro, west of Odessa, on Texas and Pacific Railroad. ........ 3100 feet. 
Monahan’s, west of Duro, on Texas and Pacific Railroad. ...... 2600 feet. 
Crossing on Pecos river, on Texas and Pacific Railroad. ....... 2590 feet. 


Besides the canyons which traverse the Plains in several directions, 


JLOGIST. 


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W. F. CUMMINS, GEOLOGIST FOR NORTHERN TEXAS. 


- Z Z 4 —— ——= a = EEE So ——s 
Snaamenretocmsceiegebeagpescssnagssesascace shop Y WN a 2 
N. F. DRAKE, ASSISTANT. Irrigation Canals Route SS G ss 12346 10 15 20 30 40 60 60 70 miles. 
. Quaternary Tertiary Cretaceous, [riass Permian, Carboniferous 
and Recent 


GEOLOGICAL MAP OF THE STAKED PLAINS AND ADJACENT AREA. 


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SURVEY 
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GEOLOGICAL 


OR atch 


=X. OCnaperito? 


TOPOGRAPHY. 1383 


there are several permanent lakes containing both salt and fresh water, 
and depressions in which rain water collects and stands for several 
months at atime. ‘The only other diversity breaking the wide monot- 
onous level are some drift sand-hills raised by the winds in the south- 
west. 

CANYONS. 


On the eastern side extensive canyons penetrate for various distances 
into the Plains, running from northwest to southeast, in line with the 
dip of the strata. The Colorado, Brazos and Red rivers all have their 
sources in the Plains with numerous branches extending a greater or 
less distance, some of them as far as one hundred miles. These canyons 
are the work of erosion, and no greater force was required than that 
now at work. When once the upper stratum is broken, and the water 
begins to ‘flow over the soft material of the beds below, the channel is 
cut deeper each year, until the present deep canyons are the result. 
All have flowing streams in them, coming from the water-bearing 
stratum lying at the bottom of the Tertiary formation. Their sides 
are generally precipitous, so that at only a few places is it possible to 
cross them, even on horseback. Before roads were dug down one 
might travel for many miles without being able to cross. 


SAND-HILLS. 


About twenty miles west of Duro, astation on the Texas and Pacific 
Railroad, and south of the southeast corner of New Mexico, is a body 
of land known as the White Sand Hills. ‘These hills extend from north 
to south about sixty miles, and are about fifteen miles wide. ‘The 
whole area is covered with mounds composed of white quartz sand, 
rising in height from ten to thirty feet. They present steep ascents 
through short distances in many places, and the loose movable char- 
acter of the sand and its depth render the passage of wagons through 
it next to impossible. 

On approaching these hills from the east or west, they. can be seen 
for long distances. ‘The reason of their occurrence at this place and 
in their present form has not been determined. There are a great 
many lakes and ponds in these sand-hills, ranging in depth from three to 
five feet. 

‘Their whole surface is covered with a growth of scrubby oak, known 
as ‘‘Shinoak,’’ which now forms an obstacle against which the sand 
will and does deposit, and this may have been the original cause. 

There are two probable sources of the material composing these hills 
—one of them the superficial covering of sandy soil that occurs almost 
everywhere on the Staked Plains, and the other the sandstones and 
sand that compose the underlying strata which are exposed at the sur- 
face southwest of this area. 


134 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


GEOLOGY. 


PRE N LOSS aN VOL ts, 


Nothing very definite has heretofore been determined of the geology 
of the Staked Plains. The various parties of observers who have 
traveled across the country in various directions, and who have seen it 
at different points, have reached different conclusions. 

Professor Jules Marcou, in 1853, passed along the northern escarp- 
ment and across an arm of the highest plateau at one point. From 
the facts collected he concluded that the upper plateau was Jurassic, 
and so colored his map, published at a later day. 

Professor Geo. G. Shumard, in 1855, passed across the extreme south- 
ern edge of the Plains and along the Pecos river to the mouth of Del- 
aware creek. He reports only the Cretaceous, having collected a great 
many characteristic fossils of the Cretaceous period on his trip. © He 
was geologist on the Marcy exploring expedition of Red River, in 1852, 
and saw the eastern escarpment of the Plains at the mouth and along 
Palo Duro canyon to its source. He placed the strata of the Staked 
Plains in the Cretaceous. 

Wm. P. Blake made a report upon the geology of thé route explored 
by Captain Pope, in 1854, near the thirty-second parallel. In speaking 
of that part of the route between Big Springs and the Pecos river he 
says: ‘‘The age of the overlying rocks of a lighter color are also ob- 
scure; but there is much reason to regard them as Cretaceous and Ter- 
tiary. ‘The only fossils which I found in the collection from the Llano 
are Cretaceous, and serve to indicate the development of that formation 
at the Big Springs of the Colorado and a point on the Llano twenty 
miles east of the sand-hills.’’* 

In the First Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas, 1889, 
I gave a brief mention of the strata of the Staked Plains under the 
name of Blanco Canyon Beds, and said: ‘“The only fossils found in 
this bed were some of the larger mammals and a species of turtle. 
Hnough was found to show the strata to be of much more recent date 
than the Cretaceous, which is found at the foot of the Staked Plains 
further southward.”’ se, 

In the Second Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas, 
1890, in a further report under the name of Blanco Canyon Beds,y+ I 
stated that the strata was probably the equivalent of the Green river 
beds of Hayden.’’ The intention was to say White river beds. 

*Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol. II., p. 17, supplement. 

{Since it is objectionable to have double names for formations, and for the fur- 


ther reason that the beds are found far from Blanco Canyon, I will hereafter des- 
ignate them as the “Blanco Beds.”’ 


GEOLOGY. 135 


WORK OF THE PAST SEASON. 


We began the work of the present season at a point on the San Saba 
river sixteen miles east of Menardville. ‘This is the extreme southern 
outcrop of the Carboniferous formation in Central Texas, which is here 
composed of massive limestone in beds dipping to the southeast, con- 
taining the well known Carboniferous fossils Productus punctatus, Pro- 
ductus costatus and Terebratula subtillita. South of this locality the 
heavy beds of the Cretaceous overlie the Carboniferous. 

Our route was westward along the valley of the San Saba river. 
About one mile from the place of beginning, the Carboniferous strata, 
which had been dipping to the eastward, changed their dip to the north- 
west, and at four miles, at the mouth of Crawford’s creek, passed under 
the red clay beds of the Cretaceous. ‘The following section was made 
here: 


SECTION 1. 
OES TSE TSS TO gE ete lt RS ac a) 5 op 10 feet. 
REO VOSSLN Clee VERT RET ULL Re patent wiping ho) 4 ish l en new loheal SS ane, 10 feet. 
pe TINCT Cd ce | 2p SWI) ie ibd oe Pa a rr ec Pi 3 feet. 
Neh (a Va ee MMR SL ad) oi ici wheal dy “otro hey 8 eS |e, ty wee ele ont OS 35 feet. 
© ASEISELES SEIT ugly ETRE EY ST ieee ea Aa Soa ae ee orb 20 feet. 
78 feet. 


No. 5 of this section is composed of rounded pebbles and larger 
bowlders, the latter of limestone and flints from the Cretaceous. The 
top of this bed is loose material, but has the same composition as the 
more firmly imbedded material in the calcareous matrix at its base. 

No. 4. is a bright yellowish clay with some quartz sand. 

No. 3 is a greenish sand of white rather large quartz sand. 

No. 2 is a bright vermilion red clay, occasionally interstratified with 
a coarse siliceous grit. 

No. 1 is a coarse massive grit of white and red quartz. ‘This is not 
in regular layers, but only in isolated masses. 

Plenty of timber along the river of pecan, overcup, elm and hack- 
berry; mesquite in the valleys. Soils are black and reddish loams. 

We continued up the valley of the river, crossing it twice, to the 
town of Menardville. The following section was made at a hill eight 
miles east of the town: 


SECTION 2. 
Pemeriiestone 4 weathered into-holes®. 9. 7...) bsg e de eg ee Woe ee 6 feet. 
CLIO Clavie ern Gi tie. Ck SS Ye a yee tape Oe alas alm lod es 8 feet. 
S. Limestone (with large gasteropods). . .:. . 2... 5... ss. es 4 feet. 
4. Yellow sandy clay, with Hxvogyra texana. ....... ey es Sed 30 feet. 


48 feet. 


136 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


From Menardville we went west along the Fort McKavitt road, cross- 
ing to the north side of the San Saba river, about four miles west. 

The south side of the river, for several miles, shows a bluff of sixty 
feet. The whole section is massive limestone, slightly tinged with 
yellow, which is tough and makes a good building stone. It weathers 
very readily along some of the layers, the disintegrated materials being 
in heaps at the base of the precipice. 

The section contains Hxogyra texana, Gryphea pitcheri (small), 
Toxaster texanus, Pecten texanus, Arca, Trigonia, and gasteropods, 
throughout the entire mass. The Gryphzas are more abundant to- 
ward the top. 

Five miles from Menardville we took the San Angelo road, and at 
two miles, reached the top of the massive limestone. The hills are 
covered with shinoak brush, with an occasional open glade. 

About six miles along the San Angelo road, on the-top of a hill we ~ 
found beds of flint, and further along, above the beds of flint, a stra- 
tum of limestone, in both of which were many Caprina. 

Three miles east of Kickapoo Springs we passed over the water shed 
between the San Saba and Colorado rivers, going down the hill, over 
the flint bed and other beds of the Lower Cretaceous, to Kickapoo 
Springs. ‘This spring comes from beneath a massive bed of limestone, 
and flows northward into the Colorado river. Above the massive lime- 
stones are several beds of fine grained sandstones, in neither of which 
were any fossils found. 

On the hill beyond the spring we passed over a bed of very hard 
yellow Cretaceous limestone. ‘The tops of the hills were again capped 
by the Caprina limestone for several miles. Eighteen miles from San 
Angelo we passed down the hills to Lipan Spring. 

Four miles from Lipan Spring we quit the main road, and turned 
almost directly west along the northern base of the Cretaceous hills. 
At one mile after turning westward, a hill, rising to the height of eighty 
feet, is composed of beds of limestone, at the base of which is a bed of 
yellowish sandy clay with Hxogyra texana. 

We continued westward to the South Fork of Concho river, and after 
crossing, turned northwestward to the bridge across the Middle Fork 
of Concho river, and thence northwestward to north end of ‘“I'win 
Peaks,’’ about eight miles south 89° 15’ west from the courthouse at 
San Angelo. | 

The following section was made from the bridge on the Middle Fork 
of the Concho river to the top of Twin Peaks: 


SECTION 3. 


1. Smooth, evenly textured brownish limestone, none of the layers 
being more than two feet thick, and usually much thinner. Some 
of the thin layers break readily on weathering. Toward the top 
they contain a few Fecten and many Caprotina. ......... 10 feet. 


Sa aaa 
hei 


GEOLOGY. 137 


2, Massive limestone, arenaceous, especially at the base. On weather- 
ing it breaks into angular fragments, and rough seamy boulders, 
the weathered surfaces usually yellowish. The layers graduate 
into each other, some weathering more readily than others. The 
following fossils were found in this bed: Hxogyra texana, Roemer; 
Gryphea pitcheri (small), Morton; Toxaster texanus, Roemer; 
Belle EL LAEGMUS, Li tH62 UGCOENSES? Wire ca botnets ah eeu feet. 
3. Yellowish sand, the top part being hardened and at places quite fr 
but usually rough. Below the hardened layers are beds that fall 
to pieces readily on being exposed to atmospheric influences. Wood 


meroti y TOssiitotnd.in this hed’) 2-22 eee eee eS 20 feet. 
4, Bluish, yellowish, and white arevaceous clay containing crystals of 
ETS 2 ES ARE FEE ek NATE Te See rae Sit tabs PUL! a eer Tee, 


5. Chocolate red clay so characteristic of the Permian in Tyan In 
this bed there is an occasional seam of soft sandstone, and thin 
Pog eG Je A ERS ee ne er even eaS merce gers wot us! 2k 11 0 feet 
6. Reddish, shaly, cross-bedded sandstone. which at places almost loses 
its shaly structure, and is quarried and used for building purposes. 
imtapes tue torn 1S. tearly white ii. is. jes SW ee ee Vane eet. 
Chocolate, red and blue clay. (In this bed occur salt wells and lakes) . 100 feet. 
Pero ulamoeutec reddish Sandstone: ii ce eS, wy 3 lel setae what: 


The old town of Ben Ficklin is about three miles south of the town 
of San Angelo. 

At the most southern quarry in that vicinity I made the following 
section: 


SECTION 4. 
MRE ee OOM AVE Wn ct es, 4) ges) ea) os. # ate oe teehee 4 feet. 
MEER VES Mrm@ erat tere 06, | yt vel oe es! pms ela ue ete eee ks 3 feet. 
SLE ECI VEWRO CRE, Ee cl iin ki NOE eee ee 8 ek acs eS eae Pee ae 10 feet. 
17 feet. 


This section belongs entirely to the Permian, and in No. I| there are 
numerous fossils. | 

Seven miles west of San Angelo, and just west of the mouth of Bald 
Eagle creek, in the bank of the river, the limestone is of the Permian 
outcrops, underlaid by blue clay. ‘This is the most northwestern out- 
crop of the Permian beds along the North Concho river. 

Fifteen miles from San Angelo I made the following section: 


SECTION 5. 
Mb@enring limestone. 2 yes ce bd lets WA ee! Luataanpanes 20: feet! 
MAE TLOW IRA [IULESTOUG: ol oie fe site co ay eae Mage algal wuyatie ie bs aoe. ONteet. 
MIRC e INCE LOUNGE edna ie! pj aan oie us 's yet ieiadie ue FoR s ted te woe 20 feet. 
Pee wellow sandy clay (A xopyrd lex and) oo. ce ah Be ee ee 30 feet. 
TEES We SORE CATY Wei oho, %,. Pw. Sa bm [por poke lahagt el oy eld wardimica es 10 feet. 
6. Sandstone... THE Fes Mahe a tite Tokge eee eee aT aice? ance a, OF 6 feet. 
7. Yellowish sandy Bayt RG ay Cie RD ae ae ite | rs a Se Lee a 30 feet. 
LES UEESS TS FT WPES tec a Peed SU) Sea ole am 8 feet. 
Wes SOTI CER, CNY Bit ry silt. To nk oc escw vb PRP eee tbe. Se eel ee ab ea 30 feet. 


160 feet. 


138 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


The following section was made twenty-four miles west of san An- 
gelo, and one mile west of Water Valley: 


SECTION 6. 
ie Caprina limestone .).. .. ....) Sees en ee agi ie) 8 feet. 
VeETOAHASCONG 2. 5 (ot a) 0 Re ete tie na a gi 3 feet. 
Pam oanay. Clay 2. ok. he ot tae opus ene ee ee 6 feet. 
4. Hard fossiliferous limestone ....... SP bs SA ee 3 feet. 
De tiardened packsands, fucoidal y ai4 3! y.e= acne, pee ee ne 6 feet. 
Gr Yellow Chay.) 60 6 we ee ne ea ga ne 8 feet. 
7. sandy clay, (Avogyra. texana)il a) ee ee 8 feet. 
SL PAOANG eg eg 5 lige et wikia SUN DReaIIG We ate linea ne ee 30 feet. 
95. Purple clay 2). - os fig siete ete ee ei ee 20 feet. 


92 feet. 


About one-fourth of a mile north of this section the same strata 
occurs, but with one hundred feet of chalky limestone beds, containing 
nodules of flint, resting upon the top of the Caprina limestone. 

The high Cretaceous hills east of the town of Montvale form both 
sides of the river valley, which is here two miles wide. One mile west 
of Montvale we left the river valley, turning in a northwestern direc- 
tion along the Colorado City road, with the high Cretaceous hills on 
both sides of the dry creek up which we traveled. 

After passing over a high table land, the dividing ridge between the 
waters of the Concho and Colorado rivers, we reached the sandstones 
and conglomerates of the Triassic, underlaid by the red clays of the 
Permian. 

The sandstones on the south side of Girard creek are full of scales 
of mica, similar to much of the sandstone found everywhere in the 
Triassic. 

We reached the Texas and Pacific Railroad at Westbrook, and turned 
westward along the railroad to Iatan. At that place we made the fol- 
lowing section: 


SECTION 7. 
ies Conglomerate)...’ s\:56 1 abe eee 40 feet. 
z.. »-Cross-bedded sandstone: “777 aaa eee bo, ce 12 feet. 
of. Red clay 700.85 62 0s eee eS i 23 feet. 
A:+ Micaceous sandstone’: ..-.°4, 0) See ene oe) cde 6 feet. 
SumChOcolate clays .2) 3)..8 22 ee Le OL ee ee wee 40 feet. 
121 feet 

The following section was made at Signal Peak: 

SECTION 8. 
lie Caprina/litsestone: (2) icr 4d sh: ae Re, en 35 feet. 
2. Massive hard white limestone. .... Rae 's:,.35, ak dot dy i a 40 feet. 
8.) Arenaceous ‘limestone; | sx gsibes eae nee eh ec le ad oe 55 feet. 
4. Compact white sand. 355, 2) oie ene eee eee at Ae 20 feet. 


GEOLOGY. 139 

BENE massive Sandstone: x. .i) 2 duc Bie ene et. lk 50 feet. 
ivennlassive and cross-bedded sandstone » > 4) 20s) Moke... 25 feet. 
Se ei ate ted Clay elo h a hit. ats ge OCR Na el oo ra os 80 feet. 
305 feet. 


Having reached Big Springs, we traveled northwestward about forty 
miles to Sulphur Springs, the entire way being over the broad level 
plateau with no exposure of the strata. At the Springs is a hard opa- 
lized layer of stone containing irregular shaped, rather small fragments 
of limestone. 

From Sulphur Springs we went south to Marienfeld. About five 
miles south of Sulphur Springs we ascended an escarpment of the 
Staked Plains facing the northeast. Half way to the top is a bed of 
Cretaceous fossils, Gryphoa pitcheri. 

About two miles east of Marienfeld is an escarpment about fifty feet 
high facing east. The base of this escarpment is red clay and red shaly 
sandstone. Above this is about ten feet of sandstone containing enough 
siliceous pebbles to be almost a conglomerate. ‘This sandstone very 
much resembles the Trinity sands of the Cretaceous. It is mostly com- 
posed of fine white grains with a few scattering red ones, slightly cross- 
bedded at places, friable, but in regular layers, and not a solid mass of 
compact sand. 

Above this to the top of the escarpment, is about ten feet arenaceous 
calcareous conglomerate. There is generally more sand than lime in 
the mass of rock, though at places it seems to be almost a limestone. 
The pebbles in it are usually white or colored siliceous pebbles, with 
an occasional piece of sandstone, iron conglomerate, and concretions. 

There is also at the top, thin seams like opalized silica, also pebbles 

and bowlders of a hard flesh colored to purple siliceous stone resem- 
bling that seen at the base of the Tertiary at Iatan. 
_ About six miles northeast of Marienfeld the Tertiary escarpment 
has changed but little from that just described. The cap rock isa 
little thicker, more massive, has almost lost its conglomeritic structure, 
and the opalized bed is thicker. Still further northward, five or six 
miles, the escarpment is not so marked, but slopes off towards the flats 
more gently, and the cap rock again becomes conglomeritic. 

From Big Springs we travelled eastward for several miles, and then 
turned a little west of north in the direction of Gail, in Borden county. 

At the head of Morgan’s creek, in the north part of Howard county, 
is a small canyon that shows a good outcrop of the Tertiary strata 
overlying the red clays and sandstones of the Triassic. About ten feet 
of friable cross-bedded conglomerate rests upon the Triassic, contain- 
ing many colored siliceous pebbles and water-worn Gryphwa pitchert 
and a few Hxogyra texana. Pieces of Permian sandstones are found 
in it, but no Tertiary material, so I conclude this is a Tertiary con- 


140 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


glomerate. The cross-bedding is generally to the east. Above this 
conglomerate is thirty feet of compact reddish sand composed of white 
and many red grains, and containing some clay. Near the top is two 
or three feet of harder concretionary rock like the stone capping east 
of Marienfeld, and above this a capping of six feet of hard, white, 
brittle, rough or uneven textured, siliceous rock, containing masses of 
opalized silica. In places the silica is transparent. Red grains of sand 
give the rocks in places a reddish color. 

Going north over this Tertiary plain, about four miles, we pass down 
on the north side into the valley of the Colorado, and find the Triassic 
red clay and micaceous shaly sandstones. One mile north of the Col- 
orado river isa Triassic escarpment facing south, capped with four 
feet of white, massive and shaly, rather soft, and slightly micaceous 
sandstone. The top is a coarse grit. Compact white sand, about two 
feet thick, underlays this, and is in turn underlaid by a white argil- 
laceous and gypsiferous sand, which graduates rapidly to the red clay 
below. 

The following is a section made at Muchakooyo Peak, four miles 
east of Gail: 


SECTION 9 

1. (Limestone..(Tertiary ie. ie eee oe eee ee ee ee |. . a aeeoer 
2. Caprina limestone: fxs) 2S 4 ae ee ee 
3. White argillaceous limestone. ...... EMC Ee 30 feet. 
4, . Trinity Sands. Wont) eden ve MLE ee ne es 20 feet 
) Red clay. Pes Pee od De Nae aig cakes aR hee 75 feet. 
6. Greenish saridstone§.c. 3.50. Se faite collars. (elas, er nas Oe 5 feet. 
(Red clay, blueatibaseaie.. 3): eee Mert a se 50 feet. 
8. White and gray, sandstone’ 20" Sire.s. te fie. pee. 2 10 feet. 
9: Red clay, : *.)~4ac sadeeae See Sel) 5c P78 ee 30 feet. 

260 feet. 


Gail, the county seat of Borden county, is situated at the foot of the 
high escarpment of the Staked Plains. 
The following section was made one mile west of the town: 


SECTION 10. 

1. ;Caprina limestone « \... -2i-.. RU etek se lt 10 feet. 
2. Soft limestone,’ white .\«:)\) ee enn ees se eo 20 feet. 
o.. Massive ‘limestone... (.. 0 )e. aise eee bs QS de ho tr 15 feet. 
4, Massive limestone (building stone) sy. -)+, 1°. +», =. 0a 10 feet. 
Or ppluish Clay 272). a ee eee te gS 20 feet. 
6. Yellow clay (Gryph@abed)...... Geers a Sy. 4 feet. 
10,Fack sand. gravel-at, bottom :)Shaues ini aie te.) a oe, ee 40 feet. 
Sse Micaceous sandy clay: : nis .o) ieee ek ee ee 20 feet. 
Que Red clayey ei Ae: (oye eke na So) 61 feet. 

200 feet. 


From Gail we went along the Lubbock road, a little west of north, 
for nine miles. Then leaving the road we traveled over the prairies 


GEOLOGY. 141 


directly north, to the head of a small creek, where the hills are one 
hundred and fifty feet above the level of the surrounding country. 
They are composed of Tertiary and Triassic beds. The Cretaceous 
formation has entirely disappeared. 

We found an old road leading into the breaks in a northeastern 
direction, which we took, and going down the hill and along the creek 
for three miles reached the broad valley of the Double Mountain 
Fork of the Brazos river. [he water was standing in holes in the 
river, and as the sand was very deep in the channel we got plenty of 
water by sinking shallow’pits in the sand. In the afternoon we crossed 
the river and two miles northwest found a large artificial tank of water. 
On the north side of the river is the high escarpment of the Staked 
Plains. 

The following section was made at this place: 


SECTION 11. 
Me Irae IMeOSEONE Go fe sy ket Ty oh het vcs o> Mew tes 40 feet. 
Serco candy Clay, with concretions ©...) fk i. ge ee es 30 feet. 
Sueceouslomerate sand and lunips of clay’)? .) 60) 6. ke eae 4 feet. 
ELL EES 0S 0 iets LON URES SI a aL GA 30 feet. 
STE SAM sLOtO Pra eee eg) tee Ms oh sere 8 feet. 
See OMerate: Mossiliicrousn. 6. ck yy eae a ee 4 feet. 
Mumenerel aud Wwititersnotted Clayies) . >. lew) cle fe is a, eS eh ape ae ets 30 feet. 


146 feet. 


Nos. 1 and 2 of the above section belong to the Blanco beds, the 
balance to the Triassic. In number six (6) I found Unios that have 
not been described as far as I know. ‘They came from a peculiar con- 
glomerate composed of small iron and clay concretions very much like 
some of the conglomerates of the Permian. In the sandstones of the 
Trias are a great many scales of the mica, which is found everywhere 
in this bed of sandstone. ‘The fossiliferous conglomerate is not uni- 
form in thickness nor in the angle of dip, but thins out in places and 
dips in various directions. There is no timber here on the river, but 
some cedar on the hills and mesquite in the valleys. 

We recrossed to the south side of the river, and went down on that 
side for six miles. On the south are the hills, 370 feet high, of 
Cretaceous material resting on the Triassic. One hundred and fifty 
feet of that is Cretaceous, with the Caprina limestone on top. The 
Trinity sands have thinned out very much, and there was no bed of 
siliceous pebbles at the bottom. 

This ridge extends along the south side of the river for many miles, 
and then breaks into isolated peaks. The Double Mountains in Stone- 
wall county are in the line of their extension, and it is probable they 
are but a part of a once connected ridge. The same fan shaped Caprina 
was found here as was taken at Double Mountains. This is the most 


142 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


‘northern occurrence of the Cretaceous formation along the eastern es- 
carpment of the Staked Plains. | 

We kept down the river for three miles, and then crossed to the north 
side where a fresh stream empties into the river. Continuing over the 
prairie for two miles, we reached a road leading from Snyder to Esta- 
cado and turned northwestward along that road for four miles, then 
turning north for three miles, reached Sandy creek. ‘The sandstone of 
the T'rias was seen in all the gulches on both sides of our road since 
leaving the river. On coming down the hill into Salt creek valley we 
pass over thick bedded micaceous sandstone. 

In the head of one of the gulches a small spring was found, and 
water was obtained in the bed of Sandy creek by sinking shallow pits 
in the sand. 

We continued along the old ranch road passing the hills of red clay 
and sandstone on both sides to the O. S. ranch. At this place there is 
a small spring coming out of the Triassic sandstone. We continued 
northward along an old road for a mile, and reached Yellow House can- 
yon. ‘The sand is very deep in the bed of this stream, but by digging 
shallow pits we found an abundant supply of water. Here our road 
ended, and we had to travel across a heavy sand ridge for a mile. On 
going down the hill on the north side we reached the south side of the 
EHspuela pasture. Still having no road, we continued northward over 
heavy sand-hills to the Salt Fork of the Brazos, where we hoped to find 
fresh water, but were disappointed, for neither ourselves nor the stock 
could drink the water in the river, nor were the few springs we found 
issuing from the base of a heavy bed of conglomerate any better. The 
high sand-hills were on every side of us, but continuing still north- 
ward for a mile we saw an open prairie to the westward of our route, 
about a mile away, which seemed to lead out into the broad prairies 
beyond. We reached the narrow strip of prairie which opened up to the 
northwestward, in which direction we went for ten miles and reached 
McDonald’s creek, where we found plenty of water, there having been 
a heavy rain at the foot of the Plains that evening and filling the holes 
in the creek with water that was only slightly salty. 

We here found an old road leading in the direction of Dockum, on 
the south side of the creek, which we followed for three miles, when 
finding a cross road running northward we turned into that and trav- 
eled up the creek to its source. 

Before reaching the head of the creek we passed through a gate into 
the pasture of the Kentucky Cattle Raising Company. ‘There are sev- 
eral very fine springs at this place, which come from the sands at the 
base of the Tertiary strata. 

We continued up the canyon two and one-half miles, and went up a 
steep hill to the top of the Plains, which at this place are very level 


GEOLOGY. 143 


and stretch away as far as the eye can reach, without a single hill or 
hollow to break the monotony. 

After reaching the top of the Plains we turned a little west of north 
to a windmill, where we got plenty of water. The company in whose 
pasture we now are traveling have put down quite a number of wells 
for the purpose of watering their stock. Those on the west side of 
Blanco canyon are about three hundred teet deep, and furnish an inex- 
haustible supply of good water, which is pumped by windmills into 
reservoirs, and there is always enough wind to keep an abundant sup- 


ply. The water is first pumped into a large wooden trough, out of 


which the cattle drink, and the surplus runs into an open dirt tank, so 
that if at any time the water is exhausted in the trough there will be 
enough in the pool. This company first adopted the plan of storing 
the surplus water in wooden troughs, but they found that during a 
calm the water would be exhausted by the cattle drinking it, and the 
tanks would shrink on drying and leak very badly when again filled, 
and a great deal wasted; so they adopted the plan of making open dirt 
tanks for storage. ‘The finest grass (curly mesquite) I have seen is in 
this pasture. 

In some of the basins there is a grass known as ‘‘ basin grass,’’ which » 
makes a very good hay. 

Where we ascended the Plains there were round, water-worn, siliceous 
pebbles, and the angular masses of silicious limestone such as occur on 
the Double Mountain Fork and the Salt Fork of the Brazos river, and 
elsewhere along the foothills of the Plains. 

We continued northward to Mt. Blanco, and descending into Blanco 
canyon made camp at the mouth of Crawfish creek, a small stream 
that flows into White river from the west side. 

The following is a section of the strata one mile south of Mt. Blanco: 


SECTION 12. 

SE TAA he Ye esh GR tense A Ciba nettles Hey Gye ee Rw asl cod ahha Ss 8 feet 
PETIR RENT Greer mr URS Dmg FA eM os eS pT NU a 2 feet. 
SERS PORES SS ge) i Ree DR a rg a) Pie re 3 feet 
RITEGaTIMe CALA IAOTIICS Etre? <b. oie’. 5) We Pa hey Pole Feb ees ee nb eye ne 4 feet. 
EIRILCOCAIOATEOVUS SATIGSLONGs (chai a ue sh ee eee ee pil ot ees 4 feet. 
MSEC OAUGAY, GIAV MP 5h ect ne OR le ae SAP AN Sh 30 feet. 
BTELe Cliatomaceousiedrole. Fo ie be we ee Te EE ah, oe. 4 feet. 
SARE UVC oa, eevee Pee Rn mS eh oe o ba ee Aol oe eM Ma ae Ogee 20 feet. 
Meme nate diatomaceous Garth i... 5 6 who cece we ed wun eee eee 8 feet. 
MUINMCeTIONIT (SALI OLL YELM tS cece, |= Shy) isi wpe pigtete palalls Were yes wae 30 feet. 
INT TANCE AI eA Ses od col ae eval se a tye we one te a ame Sake 2 feet. 
ET CARS ds OY Saga Yd a eg Pra ran 3 feet. 
118 feet. 


We found fossil vertebrates in Nos. 8 and 10 of the above section, 
but some curiosity hunters had been there and carried off nearly all the 
fossils, and those left were fragmentary. ' 


144 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


We went north and took the road to Dockum, traveling thence in a 
southeastern course twenty-three miles, and made camp at the foot of 
the Plains near an old windmill, the same place at which we camped in 
the winter of 1889, as reported in the First Annual Report. ‘The fol- 
lowing section was made one mile north of this camp: 


SECTION 13. 
Iz), White sandy clay... 5 30°.) geet ents re Mae 6 feet. 
2% | White diatomaceous earth «.')i. see ee ee 3 feet. 
o:..;/Purple clay)... 4 (s\0537 c/s ee ens Dee ea 3 feet. 
4, White: diatomaceous, earth.) 2 ee ie eee ee 4 feet. 
. 


Reddish sandy ‘clay. 25.0.4’. 55.42 sae een eae ane ee 150 feet. 


166 feet. 


In No. 1 of this section we found a fossil tortoise belonging to the 
Tertiary. 

We moved camp to the Rock House, about eight miles northeast of 
Dockum, where we found a good spring issuing from the base of the 
conglomerate. One mile north of our camp is the following section: 


SECTION 14. 
1. Whitelimeéstone, top of plains jo. -..2. tree ge tee 10 feet. 
2. Reddish clay 9 Ay sie lei CO 10 feet. 
3. Reddish sandy clay 2) ..00s) te 0s aye ae 180 feet. 
4. Cross-bedded. sandstone =) ss iiaep 225) ee aie ye 30 feet. 
5. Sandstone siey wwe toa) ee a eee Steet, 
6... Conglomerate.” @i58. 92 8) Jeiel stp a le oe Be oho eee 11, feet. 
i. Red: clayeuggecmcha tesa () een eer, Shh. vbek oo, Late 30 feet. 
8. Conglomerate 270). gmme (C4 eee oo oh ao) ie 6 feet. 
9. -Sandstorie, cross-bedded: sees es ciyen's D5 a Bed tye eee 10 feet. 
10. Conglomerate.) sca aamen > ieee een ed te 12; feet: 
Il, " Red. and bluevGlay ouggi ie) reiteration es a ae ees, 20 feet. 


317 feet. 
Many years ago General McKenzie made a wagon route along the 
foot of the Plains leading almost north. As we intended to travel up 
the foot of the Plains, we took that old trail, and following up the creek 
on which we were camped to its source, again went to the top of the 
Plains, and, after traveling eight miles, descended on the eastern side 
and camped at an old ranch where there is a nice spring of fresh water. 
In the valleys of all the creeks is a bed of Quaternary conglomerate, 
made up of material from the Triassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary, in 
which are found some very badly water-worn Cretaceous fossils. 
Continuing northward along the old trail, crossing a number of small 
creeks with flowing water, we camped on Dutchman creek at a nice 
spring. ‘Thence along the old trail to Cottonwood mott, a line camp of 
the Matador Cattle Company, which takes its name from a large grove 
of cottonwood timber in the vicinity. Several nice springs issue from 
the sands at thiscamp. ‘Iwo miles beyond this place, at another creek, 


GEOLOGY. 145 


we camped at a spring of fresh water. At this place the conglomerate 
rests upon the red clay, and very much resembles the formation at the 
Rock House northeast of Dockum. ‘The country here is very much 
broken, and in places is covered with Quaternary drift. 

We continued northward along the old trail, crossing a running creek, 
two plain roads, several sand-hills, down a steep rocky hill to a branch 
of Red River, and on down the north side of the stream, camping at the 
mouth of a small fresh water creek coming in from the west. ‘Three 
miles west of this camp is the following section: 


SECTION 15. 


1. Pinkish calcareous sandstone. This is the cap rock of the Staked 

Plains. The textureis uneven, and concretionary structure 1s com- 

mon through it. The surface outcrop is full of fractures and open- 

ings of porous nature. Fragments cover the sides ofthe hill.and . 

others are ready to fall off at the slightest jar... . 10irféet. 
2. Reddish argillaceous sand, with a few white concretions eeaae Ye 20 feet. 
3. Hard brittle pinkish sandstone. Lime concretions occur in places, 

but they are small and comprise a very small portionofthe mass. 5 feet. 
4. Argillaceous sand. The amount of clay is generally very small, 

but sometimes there are thin bands almost pure. The sand is 

mostly white quartz grains, but yellowish, red, and black grains 

are seen scattered through it. They are stained in places by iron, 

and where a fresh outcrop is shown it generally has a mottled ap- 

pearance of white and yellow. In the middle of the bed is a 

band of rather course sand and clay, ten feet thick, filled with well 

worn siliceous pebbles, hard micaceous sandstone, porphyry, gran- 

ite and Cretaceous fossils. Some of the water-worn rocks are four 

inches in diameter. All this bed is compact, and weathers ieee 

where an outcropis exposed. ..... 1 18Q%feet- 
5. White to gray micaceous conglomeritic aindieeotte: ice cross- ped 

ded, the layers dipping westward or northwestward and some- 

times north. The water-worn pebbles are generally small; nearly 

all of the beds contain some of them, and about one half of rock 

is conglomerate made of this material. Small rounded pieces of 

hard brownish or dove colored Me fever occurs in this 

BURR RATA yd pt ote oo feet, 
6. Red and rather sof sdaauane aad arenaceous eiew eer: one ses two 

feet thick. Layers of cross-bedded sandstone occur every eight 

or ten feet from the top downwards for thirty or forty feet. dip- 

Presnorthwestward i015 bei) ig ie Gove ee PW iat, teat bat 65 feet. 


We continued along the old trail three miles, and passing over a spur 
of the Plains descended by a long slope to a broad level prairie extend- 
ing many miles to the northward, going on to the Quitique ranch, on 
the south bank of North Fork of South Red River. ‘The bed of the 
stream at this place is about one thousand feet wide. ‘The sand is very 
deep in the channel, and, except in holes, no water was at the surface, 
but abundance can be had by digging pits in the sand. 


146 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


We here took the Clarendon road for ten miles, to the breaks of 
Holmes creek. . 

The foot of the Plains is only two miles westward of this camp, 
and the section is about the same as the one last given, except num- 
ber three, which does not occur at this place. At the base of the Ter- 
tiary there is ten or twelve feet of conglomerate containing some 
siliceous pebbles, a great many water-worn Cretaceous rocks, and some 
water-worn Cretaceous fossils, such as Graphwa pitcherit and Hxogyra 
tEXanNd. 

Continuing along the Clarendon road, for the first six miles the 
country is very broken—washed into deep gullies. We crossed Little 
Red creek, where the water was standing in pools and quite gypseous. 
In coming down the hill to the creek we passed over beds of massive 
gypsum. The lower beds here are Permian, and very much resembling 
the beds seen on Little Mud creek, twenty miles south of Dockum. 
The red clay in the gulches is cut in every direction by seams of fibrous 
gypsum... On ascending the hill, on the north side of the creek, we 
come upon a level plateau. 

We reached Red River and made camp on the south side at the 
mouth of a creek of fresh water, where the river is about one thousand 
feet wide. Thedrift sand has blown into the channel and is very deep, 
and the drift sand-hills on the south side are from twenty-five to sixty 
feet high. The channel of Battle creek, a tributary running. in from 
the west, is about three hundred feet wide at its mouth and filled with 
sand, with no water running. Three miles further on we crossed Mul- 
berry creek about. one mile above its confluence with the river. ‘The 
bed of the creek was about four hundred feet wide, with a small stream 
of water running in it. The sand is very deep and the quicksand very 
ad: 

We continued northward, about thirteen miles in all, over a succes- 
sion of hills and broad plateaus to a creek, up which we traveled for 
three miles and made camp. We got water by digging shallow pits in 
the sand in the channel of the creek. This creek has its source in a 
high sand ridge on the north and in numerous gulches, in all of which 
are small springs of good water. ‘There has been very heavy erosion 
along the country over which we have traveled since leaving Little 
Red creek, and only the lower part of the Tertiary is found anywhere 
and it is often entirely wanting. On the tops of the hills are water- 
worn siliceous pebbles. The water in the gulches comes from the base 
of the Tertiary. 

We continued up the creek nearly to its source, and then passed up on 
a high plateau that extends to the Salt Fork of Red River. 

There are two kinds of soil on this plain—-a loose sandy soil, covered with 
a heavy growth of bunch grass and sedge grass; and a black sandy soil, 


‘ a 


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aie eel a 


GEOLOGY. } 147 


covered with mesquite grass. It isa question among the settlers in this 


part of the country as to which is the best. 


’ We passed through the town of Clarendon, and going westward four 
miles made camp on the Salt Fork of Red River near the old town of 
Clarendon, and at the mouth of a clear creek of fresh water that runs 
into the river from the south side. ‘he water in the main river is salty. 
North of camp is a section showing red clay at base, above which is a 
bed of argillaceous red sandstone, which in turn is capped by three feet 
of hard, fine-grained limestone, weathering into sharp angular frag- 
ments. 

From Clarendon we went westward along the railroad, up a gradual 


_ ascent that is scarcely perceptible, to Goodnight, a distance of eighteen 


miles. The top of the Staked Plains being here reached without a 
steep grade anywhere, while generally the eastern escarpment is very 
precipitous. 

Mulberry canyon, three miles southwest of Goodnight, shows about 
the same Tertiary section as that we had seen through Dickens and 
Motley counties. . The cap'rock is not quite as hard as usual, and per- 
haps is more sandy. ‘The argillaceous sand below contains many con- 
cretions, generally one to twoinches in diameter. Fine black iron sand 
also occurs in this bed, as shown in the ravines that have cut through 
or into it. Water-worn pebbles, in a layer of three or four feet, occur 
about the middle of the section, and about ten feet of conglomerate of 
siliceous pebbles and water-worn Cretaceous fossils occur at the base of 


Tertiary sand. Just under this conglomerate there is four or five feet 


of hard, brittle, rough-surfaced sandstone, or almost a solid mass of 
silica of reddish color. ‘The Triassic conglomerate does not occur here, 
and the siliceous rocks mentioned rest on red argillaceous sand that 
becomes gypsiferous at about forty feet from its top. The gypsum oc- 
curs in impure forms in massive layers and as intercalations through 
close seams in the bed. 

The following section was made at Campbell’s ranch, twenty miles 
south of Claude, in the Palo Duro canyon: 


SECTION 16. 
Se ates SU ate Ns a hg pralitogy ekg sa ae sina. Ce 4g et 115 feet. 
mreas-beaded congiomeritic. sandstone. .>.°. 2... ele ee 225 feet. 
MENTE LOOX CSE LOW SECC IEUO Eg oS Na ya tate tie) whee grtle Pk ae 8 135 feet. 
MenrnaRaeD ArOliACeONS sand fe 2). 0c. Te aN ke 90 feet. 


565 feet. 

At the base of No. 1 is a bed of opaque, hard, brittle sandstone, two 
to three feet thick, which varies in color from a dull pink to white, in 
which translucent and transparent pieces occur in a few places. The 
bed of water-worn siliceous pebbles, containing a few water-worn Cre- 
taceous fossils, occurs about sixty feet from the base of the stratum. 


148 ; LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


The remainder is a massive pinkish. sand with nodules of clay and 
lime occurring through it. ‘Towards the top of the stratum these con- 
cretions are mostly composed of lime, but elsewhere the quantity of 
lime is generally very small. About fifteen feet from the base of the 
stratum is a limy concretionary rock mass usually containing a large 
amount of brittle siliceous rock. When this is the principal constit- 
uent, the limestone is often found imbedded in the siliceous mass in an 
almost pure state, and so closely united with it as to show the bed is 
all of the same age. ‘This bed varies in thickness from three or four 
feet to twenty feet. At the top of the Plains a brownish segregated 
banded limestone occurs to a limited extent, and small pieces of black 
carbonaceous limestoue is frequently found near the top. ‘This stratum 
is practically uniform for fourteen miles down the canyon, but is 
thicker on the north than on the south side. The springs of water 
along the canyon are found in this stratum, and it is the bed in which 
the water is found in all the wells on the Plains. 

No. 2 of this section is a cross-bedded conglomeritic white sandstone 
occasionally interstratified with thin seams of bluish clay. Small flakes 
of mica are abundant, and fossil reptilian bones and coprolites are 
found. It contains no siliceous pebbles. The water-worn pebbles are 
usually a white argillaceous sandstone, though dark shades of pase 
and black occur, also pieces of shaly sandstone. 

No. 8 is a bed of clay, slightly arenaceous, varying in color from 
purple to yellowish or yellowish red. 

Nos. 5 and 4 show unconformability, the color and lithological char- 
acter being quite constant. No. 3 has no stratification planes, while 
No. 4 is noted for them, and the contact between the two divisions is 
clearly marked and can be easily distinguished at a distance of a quar- 
ter of a mile, or as far as the beds can be seen. A thin layer of iron 
occurs in places near the base of No. 5. 

No. 4 is a bright vermilion argillaceous cdndetones slightly shaly, 
and sometimes massive. Bluish white spots arecommon. ‘The upper 
fifteen or twenty feet has very little or no gypsum, but from there to 
the base the gypsum rapidly increases in quantity until half or more of 
the material is massive gypsum, which predominates towards the bot- 
tom, where there are two layers from one to four feet thick, the bottom 
one being firm and beautifully banded. 

An examination of the canyon below this point for a distance of 
fifteen miles showed this section to be about uniform at all places. On 
Home and Pleasant creeks stratum No. 2 was about two hundred feet 
thick, and on Hoppy creek it was about two hundred and thirty feet 
thick. Fossil wood and coal from drift logs occurred quite frequently 
‘in this stratum. Siliceous pebbles are extremely rare, and the relative 
amount of conglomerate sandstone and clay varies at different places. 

By barometric measurement the top of the Staked Plains at Claude 


. eo 


GEOLOGY. 149 


is about one hundred and fifty feet higher than at the canyon. At the 
mouth of Dry creek the canyon is about six hundred and fifty feet 
deep, and gradually increased in depth towards the eastern escarpment 
of the Plains. 

At the falls of Palo Duro canyon, south of Amarillo, the Tertiary 
beds are about one hundred and forty feet thick. Near the top there 
is often a bed of white arenaceous hardened clay, being sometimes 
more lime than clay, generally overlying a white argillaceous sand 
containing masses of stalactitic structure and fossil vertebrates. In 
this bed, on the south side of the canyon, opposite the falls, were found 
the teeth of a fossil horse and mastodon and other fragments of the 
skeleton. ‘This sand bed varies in thickness from a few inches to fifteen 
feet. 2 

A bed of siliceous pebbles and water-worn Cretaceous fossils occur at 
the base of the Tertiary. ‘The fragments of Gryphzea seem to be dif- 
ferent from the typical species of G. pitcheri, Morton. ‘They are more 
dilate than the original type. The remainder of the Tertiary strata at 
that locality is about the same as seen at other places. It is composed 
of rather fine-grained white sand, with occasionally black and frequent 
red grains. ‘There are also nodules of the sand in a matrix of clay, or 
clay and lime, the whole mass having a pink color and drift-like struct- 
ure on the weathered surfaces. 

Below this is a bed of about one hundred feet of Triassic material, 
partly conglomerate, but at least half or more a smooth, even-grained 
white sandstone. It is cross-bedded, the layers, from one to two inches 
in thickness, generally dipping a little north of west. It is made up 
of white and brown argillaceous sandstone fragments and a few frag- 
inents of limestone, all in a matrix of sand and crystalline calcite. It 
is generally quite hard, and the thicker layers make a good building 


stone. Fragments of Unio and reptilian teeth and coprolites were 


found in it. 

Springs occur at numerous places at the top and middle of the con- 
glomerate, being more numerous on the north than on the south side 
of the canyon. 

There is about eighty feet of red, purple and yellow or blue clay 
underlying this bed of conglomerate, which in turn is underlaid by five 
feet of yellow, irregular textured, argillaceous limestone. ‘Thin seams 


_of crystalline calcite traverse this bed in every direction, and the con- 


cretions often contain crystals of calcite, but nodules are somewhat 
rare. | 

Two and a half miles northwest of Amarillo, at the base of the 
Staked Plains, is a quarry of sandstone belonging to the Triassic. 


The bed here is about fifteen feet thick. The stone is used for build- 


ing in the town of Amarillo. Overlying this sandstone there is usually 
sufficient sand and clay to fill up the inequalities in the top of the 


150 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


sandstones and conglomerates; then comes the characteristic basal 
Tertiary; then a bed of hard, brittle, pinkish siliceous stone, with 
grains of sand and often water-worn pebbles of limestone and quartz 
scattered through it. This, siliceous layer, which is often conglom- 
eritic, is about two feet thick. Above this bed, at this place, only 
fifteen feet of Tertiary strata is exposed. It is quite calcareous, and 
some of the Tertiary drift rock is a very dark carbonaceous limestone. 
Further back on the top of the Plains the water-worn pebbles are scat- 
tered over the surface in considerable quantities. 

From Amarillo we went northwestward, passing off the high plateau 
of the Staked Plains, and travelling mostly over Triassic sandstones 
and Red beds, the sandstones, as usual, being full of scales of mica. 
The Red beds were generally covered with drift from the Plains. We 
crossed the west prong of Amarillo creek, and turned almost directly 
west, taking the road to the Frying Pan ranch. Before reaching there 
we crossed one or two small creeks with water from springs issuing 
from the base of the Blanco beds. At one of them is a small irrigated 
farm. At Frying Pan ranch a fine, bold spring of very cold water, 
issues from the base of the Blanco beds. , 

After passing the Frying Pan ranch, we followed the Tascosa road 
nine miles, where we reached the old Government road running from 
Fort Smith to Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is the route traveled 
by Professor Jules Marcou in 1853. ‘Three miles further the Tascosa 
road turns to the northwestward. Wecontinued along the old road 
almost directly west, and a mile further we found plenty of water ina 
deep pool, and camped. 

We found upon examination that nearly all the small canyons in 
this vicinity, which extend into the Plains, have springs of fresh water 
in them, though it soon sinks in the deep sands of the valleys. 

At this place the following section was made: 


SECTION 17. 
1.Limestone, top of PlainS™; ips aneanen  aoe ty 20 feet. 
20'>Whitish sandy. clay), 3 20. Re eee Dae cancnct 2. kas . 80 feet. 
3.» ‘Coarse soft sandstone.) (* (. //Dyi: eae. eae rie nh kee ee 6 feet. 
4 Red clay.) «0 1h <- 0. 2 etait: oe a 10 feet. 
b., apoft sandstone. 9...) a i. 0%) eee ie Ma Onan enter 20 feet. 
Basaived clay S04. . 3.1.) togh ee ee ee Pied syStaniaes tthe ns. . cue een 20 feet. 
jie Oaudstone: )\us.,. 2 ae) eee Pees es ees Fe os nan 6 feet. 
8.) Red’and white sandy clay <))) eee ome ane ey Go, A 40 feet. 
vt Conglomerate and sandstone tassg eee ae ee 8 feet. 
10. “Reddish clay*A.'2. 5... papy Ree ee Re ale at. od ee ee 30 feet. 


190 feet. 


We continued along the old trail, crossing a number of steep hills 
and hollows, in which were streams of clear and running water coming 
from springs at the base of the Plains. We found in these hollows a 


: 


GEOLOGY. 151 


great quantity of wild grapes that were just ripening, and which were 
very sweet to the taste. | 

At five miles we ascended a steep hill to the top of the Staked Plains. 
At this place the plateau is very level and covered with a thick growth 
of mesquite grass. "Three miles further we come toa large fresh water 
pond in a depression of the Plains. The water was derived from recent 
rainfall, and was not over four feet deep. 

Five miles further we reached Encampment creek, which is nothing 
more than a deep canyon extending into the Staked Plains from the north 
from the Canadian river. The strata here is composed of the upper 
beds of the Tertiary and upper beds of the Triassic. The beds of the 
Triassic are much distorted and are composed of red clay, red sand- 
stones and conglomerate. The conglomerate is composed of hardened 
clay andsand. The clay is very bright red. The water in the creek 
comes from springs at the base of the Tertiary. 

We continued along the trail over the broad level plains for eighteen 
miles, and then went down off the Staked Plains at Rocky Dell creek. | 
This creek comes from the Plains near where we descended, and has 
water standing in the holes in the sandstones. A 

Beneath a projecting rock on the bluff the Indians have carved and 
painted many crude figures in the sandstones. 

‘The general appearance of the strata here is the same as at the other 
places noted along the northern escarpment—white, chalky limestone 
on top, and red clays and sandstones and conglomerates below. ‘The 
sandstone is full of scales of mica, and is partly massive and partly 
laminated. The laminated part is dendritic. The conglomerate is 
very hard and resembles the upper bed at Dockum. 

The highest point of the Plains passed over to-day was four thousand 
feet, by barometric measurement, above sea level. Our camp on the 
creek is three thousand seven hundred and eighty feet, giving two 
hundred and twenty feet as the height of the escarpment of the Plains 
at this place. Only about thirty feet of that is Tertiary and the 
_ balance Triassic. 

We next camped on a creek about seven miles distant, near an old 
cattle pen, the foot of the Plains being about two miles south. The 
only perceivable difference in the strata of the Tertiary is that there ap- 
pears to be more lime than has been seen before. Several windmills 
are in sight westward along the foot of the Plains. The wells are in 
the sandbeds, are not more than twenty feet deep, and furnish an inex- 
haustible supply of good water. Cedar in abundance grows along the 
bluffs of the Plains and cottonwood along the creeks. 

Continuing along the old road, we crossed the State line between 
Texas and New Mexico. ‘The country is more broken, but the strata 
is the same seen heretofore, with a number of sand-hills, caused by the 
drift from the Plains. Near the camp we found an exposure of sand- 


152 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


stone and conglomerate. In the latter we found fragments of petrified 
wood, and in the red clay a fragment of a reptilian scapula. In the 
afternoon we came in sight of the top of Big Tucumcari mountain, 
which was visible from the top of the Plains the evening before, and is 
said to be fifty miles away. 

About opposite, and a few miles north of the postoffice of Endee, we 
found some very badly water-worn Gryphcea pitcheri, Morton, in the 
creek, 

We continued along the old road, and made noon camp at a pool of 
water in a ravine. Five miles before reaching this camp we saw for 


the first time the Tucumcari beds, which at that place formed part of 


the escarpment of the Staked Plains. The following section was made 
at that place: 


SECTION 18. 
1, White limestone, characteristic limestone of the top bed of the Staked 
Plains 2 wn 0 1s eR RS SS MO) 12 feet 
2. Hard limestone at base with grains of sand throughit. This sand in- 
creases toward the top, where it is very little harder than compact 
Band oy Oye ea SE ee ans nig ero ea 63 feet 
3. Coarse sand, with white grains and a few red grains intermixed. . . 3 feet 
4. Bluish black shale, of uneven texture, with thin layers of argillaceous 
sandstone. This bed is highly fossiliferous; has Gryphe@a tucum- 
cart, Marcou; Axogyra texana and Pectentexana ........ 12 feet 
5. Water-worn siliceous pebblesandsand. .........%:.4.4.-. 6 feet 
6. Fine compact sandstone, of uniform yellow color, weathering with a 
smooth surface =. 7.7te. ieee fin, oy ak ee, ee 1 Ne ea See 
7. Alternating layers of red, bluish white and pinkish arenaceous clay 
and argillaceous sand, usually in thin layers ......... |. 42 feet 
210 feet 


Below this section, in the same locality, are several thick layers of 
red sandstone. 
We continued three miles to the east prong of Fossil creek. The 


Plains are only a mile away, and the escarpment turns abruptly to the 
south. 


The following section was made at the head of one of the small 


tributaries of East Fossil creek: 


SECTION 19. 
i¢:? Brown, limestone 2° .44.4\). AG, BU eee ve a 40 feet. 
2. Pinkish colored sand with calcareous nodules ........... - 60 feet. 
3.. Yellow calcaréoussandstone . 9..ii a7. eo ws cs Siny «Seen 150 feet. 
4, (Blue shale, fossiliferous, 2°, Wet eee ey a ee 60 feet. 
5. yellow fine-grained ‘sandstorie “Syscmeua een ees eee) ie s et ee 240 feet. 
6.;.“Red clay, with seams of sandstones o..). ok. ee oe 250 feet. 


800 feet. 


No. 1 of this section is a brownish unevenly textured arenaceous 
limestone. Bands of darker and lighter shades run irregularly through 


GEOLOGY. 1538 


it, and pieces of opalized silica often occur in lumps or irregular thin 
Sheets, and the whole mass shows a general appearance of segregation 
of the different material. The rock has no well defined plans of strati- 
fication, but is a mass of concretions, seams and irregular surfaces. 
The top, however, is a little more uniform in texture, and in this part 
the opalized material occurs. 

No. 2is a mass of pink colored sand, containing nodules of calca- 
reous sand, often red, but generally white, especially when close to the 
top, and containing considerable lime. The sand is a mixture of fine 
and coarse grains, mostly white, but with some red grains. 

No. 3 is a yellow calcareous sandstone, often pure sandstone, but at 
the base and top generally highly calcareous. At some places near 
the top the.stratum contains thin layers of iron ore. Siliceous water- 
worn pebbles occur sparsely in layers at some places. ‘Towards the 
base the sand is rather fine, but near and at the top it is coarse and 
bound by a lime matrix into a firm hard rock that is often false-bedded, 
the planes of this bedding dipping to the south southeast. The rock 
throughout the bed is generally massive. The top isin places a white 
quartzitic-like sandstone. 

No. 4 is a blue shale, containing in places thin bands of sandy clay 
and some fossiliferous calcareous nodules. The lower half or more of 
this bed is the Gryphea tucumcari horizon. At the base is a stratum 
of water-worn siliceous pebbles, one foot thick in places: 

No. 5 is principally a fine grained yellow sandstone, often having 
through it black specks and dendrites. At places it is white, and varies 
in thickness from massive layers of fifteen feet to thin ripple marked 
layers of only a few inches. Some bands of red and arenaceous blue 
clay are interstratified with the sandstone. 

No. 6, where exposed at this place, is principally a more or less are- 
naceous ted clay, slightly shaly in places. Thin bands of blue, green- 
ish and purple clays also'occur in layers of sandstone from one inch to 
three feet in thickness. ‘The sandstones are generally white or bluish, 
but some of the thin layers are red, or red with blue spots. 

Nos. 1 and 2 of the above section belong to the Blanco beds. From 
3 to 5 inclusive are the Tucumcari beds. No. 6 is the Triassic. The 
Blanco beds are not different from what has been seen elsewhere, except 
as to the color of No. 2, which is merely local, that bed generally being 
white. The Tucumcari beds are different from anything seen else- 
“where except in this vicinity. The Triassic is about the same as the 
upper parts of the beds in other localities. 


154 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


The following section was made at the point of the Plains where the 
escarpment turns abruptly to the south for some distance: 


SECTION 20. 

APPISITTIE SCONE! ih oa a he is ee . «04 168s 
Deeviassive sandstone |...) se eee ee es 80 feet. 
Demebittish Shale vc be) a Pap Rays tek hoe cee INpeay 85 feet. 

Ze Conplomerate. .) nd &, | td 3) Re ee » io aged eee 

Ga blue claye. ss Sahin. Sy Ft |e Maal aa eee 4 feet. 

Mir REA CIAY. 6. Foe ky aie lg fe tae: 9 kee DAE ae rh 10 feet 

7. Massive yellow sandstone**).\.)-4 20.) sa pameun Pern nee ae 50 feet. 

Se ‘Sandstone (070 04).6090 SP ee ee 4 inches. 
9 Purple clay, with petrified’ wood) 7°) arene SS. Wbnteen 
10. (Gray sandstone '\.’ 4"... "gga er SViagee 3 ee anaes 
L,- .Réd. sandstone . 40.00) 2) 29g ee ks 1 foot 6 inches. 
Lem ROC CLAY y Jann Merete Sy Etats Giada Oe a 2 feet. 
13: Bluish sandstone i. S67 2 Use ts ee . «>. L foot SG inenee. 
14." "Blue sandstone !)y 2.) oh gente ek fee eee 4 inches. 
15) Red -argillaceous*sandstone i 5 ee obety 3 inches. 
16.:- Red clay \... 6 VRSCA ae aaa tA LPTeet 
17... ‘Heavy blue sandstotre™ s 040 7) (Ai eat 1 foot 6 inches. 
18. Gray, fine grained sandstone, cross-bedded ....... 1 foot. 
19... Blue clay... Wye We eee eT 


310 feet 5 inches. 


At this place the Tucumcari dip at a much greater angle to the south- 
east than do the Blanco beds, and only the upper limestone is found 
resting directly upon the Tucumcari beds. This is merely local, as I 
found by following up one of the canyons a mile, where I found the 
fault in the strata of the Tucumcari beds, which there resumed their 
usual inclination, the other Blanco beds being 1n contact with the tilted 
sides of the Tucumcari. 

The sides of the mountains here are covered with a heavy growth of 
cedar and pinyon pine. ‘There are no springs in the heads of the can- 
yons here, as in those further east. 

Half a mile below this section, on Fossil creek, are heavy beds of 
cross-bedded sandstone, with scales of mica. 

We continued westward along the old trail to a creek (marked Fossil 
creek on the map) flowing into the Canadian river. Water is stand- 
ing in holes along the bed, and we got good water by digging pits in 
the sand. Groves of cottonwood trees are found along the creek. The 
country traveled over-is quite level with no exposures of the strata. 


Continuing along the old trail for four miles, we turned almost directly | 


north in the direction of Little and Big Tucumcari mountains, the 
point of divergence being about opposite Mount Rivuelto, a high 
mountain on the south of the old trail. This mountain was by mistake 
called Big Tucumcari on the map published by Marcou. 

At this mountain are seen two steppes, the lower composed of the 
Triassic and the upper of the Tucumcari and Blanco beds. ‘The Tri- 


GEOLOGY. 155 


assic steppe is about as high as the top of the Staked Plains, and I 
think this is why Marcou thought its lower strata was the same as that 
where they crossed the Plains. We passed by the base of Little T'u- 
cumcari mountain on the east side, crossing at that place Tucumcari 
creek. Inthe bed of the creek is the cross-bedded micaceous sand- 
stone of the Triassic. 

A few miles further we passed the base of Big Tucumcari mountain, 
on the western side, and camped at the base on the north side, which is 
almost a perpendicular precipice, with all the strata well exposed. 


The following section was made of the mountain : 


SECTION 21. 

SIEPECCEMLTIL@ Gr Lema) 0d niin Fe TF ag bey lat we an ele wane betaee” weeks 20 feet. 

MRIS EGE MULSCOTIO Ey Gir ile ote a bag 8 ce Phas eee Pee ies 60 feet. 

EEA Me tAlee Mio ph ety sa eo ef eo ae 50 feet. 

Suracciveryellowssandstone  . 0.0. 3 ea OU 235 feet. 

ESM Herma tte Wim ah e 9 NC iw) (see Doe kd twa aa 30 feet. 

AR a ee aa oe IA aes ye ee ele ob past MARR 4 feet. 

I GA Va or Bet RO maa a ER eS ala) ne Ww. flay, eo 6 feet. 

SE EACCOUS CLS Gr te Mee oe Stee eG Ast Geko) ot gh ay 2A eee Re eel 1 foot. 

EEE RC A YRC STR me PERE fo eo Ri) TORN Gy ae GN ee ee cages 4 feet. 

EOS CIAY Were APP renee RS A Sg 16 feet. 
ce UAE SE Sac 3d ie ae a a 30 feet. 
DTTC ClO me tial yo nL er ett Wt Bek agfoe de) hg eka Me 145 feet. 
601 feet. 


We continued north about five miles to Liberty, on the west side of 
Pajarito creek, and there turned south along the road to Fort Sumner, 


which is said to be seventy-five miles distant. 


At several places we passed near the foot of high hills having about 


the same section as “Tucumcari. 


We made camp at a pool of water at 


the base of a hill showing the same strata, about twelve miles south of 
Liberty, on the north edge of Plaza Larga, an immense level plain 
lying at the base of the high hills. There is very little timber of any 
kind on our route except cedar on the sides of the mountains, and 
cottonwood and hackberry along the creek. 

We continue southward about ten miles, and having crossed the old 
Government trail, came to a hill on the west, a few miles east of Pyra- 
mid Mount, where the following section was made: 


SECTION 22, 


Re tit St OTe ahh 5, Car aeMeah w+) cf ak td bk resi Dee Meee Vice? th Oo say's 40 feet. 
Dare LOT ITBIOVETS 9 oslo d\"., Ys ase «hype ney hs ak ae UNS 80 feet. 
TUTORS Te Ne DP ee aN ee fo 2” Cote ok anne Seem 4 he, ous 25 feet. 
MEDTEMALUEVCIOW SanUSstOle: Un. Mens odo. oe sRdapoen ee eet ne here Oe 6 t 40 feet. 
(TENGE ge Cal gy Ss Saal a RR RR la aT PR cea Ae cata a 140 feet. 
ea Le GAnOStOne ctl rh echo fps te SN oft aba en SE I ee 10 feet. 
MMSE CIN Vit A i Ae te oe) as ge Sobek ee RN o treat; « 20 feet. 


156 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 
See Brownlsandstone.... < ..». = > d-.+ fesuh pele nben, pep knn theta i 5 feet. 
DRO CLAY yew ins Dae sca oi beh CORR econ Oo a 22 feet. 
107 eRed sandstone... 2...» s«) 4h eee Bienes ae 5 feet. 
DREGE Y 65 ae 5 fae een 3 feet. 
tmayrmlue Clay.) 2 ee rec 5. feet. 
Toe POrpleiclay 6) .000) 0 er , Se ct 10 feet. 
Mey PREGICIAY Ce i due +. ss el oh te weg a petit, Cele aaa 173 feet. 
15.) Conglomerate )) 2.64)i.-/t. <5, ete Reese 2 eer 
TON Red-clay <0 a... Ra. NS a 10 feet. 
7 Red sandstone’. yo je ae ee ee er 4 feet. 
De ePCONSIOMICLALe Vii)... x) -o hie et 6 ea i ee Eee ae ee §_ feet: 
19°’ “Bluish'sandstone .| 5.6 F “a. Pe tee ee 1 foot. 
603 feet. 


At the southern foot of this mountain is the head of the creek which > 


runs at the base of Little Tucumcari mountain. 

At the foot of the mountain, lower than any part of the above section, 
was a Triassic sandstone full of mica scales, about the same that we had 
seen everywhere in that formation. This hill contains the most south- 
ern extension of the Tucumcari beds. 

The top of this mountain is about one hundred and fifty feet higher 
than the top of the Staked Plains, which begin about four miles to the 
south. ) 

We traveled southwestward, and at four miles ascended again to the 
top of the Staked Plains, which are here four hundred and twenty feet 
above the creek at the base of the last mountain. The escarpment 
here is very abrupt and difficult of ascent.’ The strata of the Plains is 
composed of the Triassic and Tertiary, the Tucumcari beds having en- 
tirely disappeared. The same white limestone is at the top of the 
Plains here as was found elsewhere and on the top of the hill at which 
the last section was made. Where we ascended there is a sand-hill for 
a mile or two in extent covered with ‘‘shinoak’’ brush. 

After traveling two miles, we descended into a basin, two miles wide 
and three miles long, about one hundred feet below the level of the 
surrounding plain, in which were two salt lakes. At the northwest 
side there is a bold spring of fresh water. After leaving the basin we 
traveled over the high level plateau, in a southwestern course, crossing 


the head of one canyon, and at distance of fourteen miles again went | 


down off the Staked Plains, where the top of the escarpment was two 
hundred and fifty feet above the level of the valley below. The strata 
comprised the Blanco beds resting directly upon the sandstone of the 
Triassic. - . 

We continued to descend by a gradual slope for a few miles to a 
creek where we found the sandstone of the Triassic in which the large 
scales of mica occur, and camped near the residence of Fred Garret, 
formerly a resident of Texas, getting water from his well, the only 


e. 


GEOLOGY. 157 


water to be had in the vicinity, and wood from his woodpile, as there 
is no wood in the country except in the cedar brakes several miles 
away. We have been traveling southwest almost parallel with the 
escarpment of the Plains, which is here only a mile or two away. 
From this place it is fourteen miles to the Pecos river, which we reach 
three miles above old Fort Sumner. 

The route traveled was over a succession of hills that are nothing 
‘more than sand dunes, varying in height from ten to fifty feet, over- 
grown with scrub oak. So deep was this drift sand it was impossible 
to get a section of the strata over which we were traveling. 

The channel of the river, where we reached it, was about three hun- 
dred yards wide, and at the time was entirely covered with water, there 
being a heavy rise in the river from recent rains. Although the bed 
of the river is so wide, the depth of the water was not over three feet 
at the deepest place, and was very muddy, but the mud soon settled 
when dipped out and allowed to stand for a few moments. 

We attempted, as usual, to get clear water by digging shallow pits 
‘near the margin of the stream, but found the soil so highly impreg- 
nated with salts that the water, in percolating through, became more 
highly charged than it was in the river. 

We continued down the river to old Fort Sumner, a distance of two 
miles. The fort was abandoned by the troops in 1870, since which 
time the place has been in a very dilapidated condition. At the time 
of its occupancy by the troops a dam was built across the river a few 
miles above, and the water taken out to irrigate the valley. Long 
lines of cottonwood trees mark the place of the old canal, and the 
groves show where the land was irrigated. Soon after the soldiers 
abandoned the fort the dam was washed out and has never been rebuilt, 
probably for lack of demand for agricultural products, and of capital. 

Crossing the river at the old fort we took the road to Roswell, and 
twelve miles distant reached Coyote creek, where I made the following 
section: 


SECTION 23. 
BeeerurY yuconriniierate iy ie: oo. Lue!) Lak ree ei at A 6 feet. 
Bemeraretronstone conctomerate 2.) iat bl veh eee Ae rele Give tine® fe 4 feet. 
MIT OWI CIA Yagi A oe ins iol ove es ada LL ee a Seni.) GAleet. 
4. Dark red laminated sandstone, with insect tracks. ......... 2 feet. 
i ARES aE Eo dicate ie a 0 2 a a Rg = a 4 feet. 
PEMEMIMIATCHTIC SITITCACCOUS 375) gis. Avee\ Sho UE a So a 8 feet. 


30 feet. 


These strata all belong to the Triassic, except the upper conglomer- 
ate. The water in the creek was fresh. 

We again reached the river at twenty miles from Fort Sumner. The 
valley is covered with an incrustration of salt. On the east side of the 
'— river, opposite the camp, and at the edge of the water, 1s a bed of mas- 


158 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


\ 
sive gypsum. ‘The beds of Triassic clays and sandstones rest directly 


on the gypsum. One mile southwest, in the head of a ravine, is a 
spring of fresh water and a small irrigated farm. 

We continued down the river for twenty miles, and camped near an 
irrigation ditch. The dam had been built out of logs hauled out of 
the mountains, but so insecurely built that the first heavy rise in the 
river washed it out. It is perfectly useless to try to dam the Pecos 
river in any such way. The owner of the ditch has abandoned the 


idea of irrigating his land by damming the river, but will cut the head 


of his ditch two feet lower, which will put it on a level with low water, 
and the water can be put on the land ‘at the same place as before. 
During the day we passed over beds of massive gypsum, red clay, and 
red and white sandstones. In the afternoon we saw beds of magnesian 
limestone of the Permian. 

The western escarpment of the Staked Plains was plainly visible 
from the tops of the hills at a distance of about ten miles. Witha 
field glass we could distinguish the white bluffs of the upper beds from 
the underlying red beds. | 

We continued down the valley of the river for three miles, passing 
several farms that were to have been irrigated by the water from the 
ditch just mentioned. The corn in the valleys would make a partial 
crop, and the wheat and oats had made fair crops, having been irri- 
gated well up to the time of the washing out of the dam. 

Leaving the river we traveled over the ridge composed of gypsum 
and red clay beds. At noon we halted at Twenty-five Mile creek. 
The water is highly charged with salts, and is the worst we have had 
to use on the trip. It comes from beneath the Quaternary conglom- 
erate, which rests on red clay interstratified with gypsum. 

In the afternoon we passed over a succession of hills and valleys. 
At one place we crossed an alkali flat of a mile or more in extent, on 
which there was not a vestige of grass or any other vegetation. 

We camped at night on Salt creek, at a large spring of fresh water. 
The spring is at the base of a stratum of white chalky limestone, 
resembling the upper beds of the Staked Plains, and which we take to 
be the same. Salt creek is a bold running stream, the water in which 
is quite bitter. The only grass we have had for the last two days for 
our teams was the salt grass of the rivers and creeks. 

From Salt creek we passed on to a broad level plateau that extends 
many miles southward, and reaches the foot hills of the mountains on 
the west. We suppose this broad plateau to be the same as the upper 
beds of the Staked Plains. It was generally covered by soil so that no 
section could be made. We saw no gypsum in beds or otherwise, but 
in all the shallow gulches the same white limestone we had seen at 
Salt creek. 


Three miles’ north of Roswell we came toa stream of clear water 


ur, Wale 


’ a 


GEOLOGY. 159 


that has its source only a few miles to the westward. The water from 
this creek has been taken out by canals on both sides of it and used 
for irrigating the valley below. 

At the town of Roswell, on the north side, we crossed North Spring 
creek, a bold running stream thirty feet wide and two feet deep. The 
water was only slightly impregnated with common salt. ‘Iwo large 
irrigating ditches connect with this stream above the town. 

South of the town is the Hondo creek, which has its source in the 
mountains to the westward. All the water has been taken out of the 
channel by ditches, but only a part of it has been used, the balance 
going back into the original channel below the town. 

From Roswell we took the road to Eddy, almost directly southeast. 

In going up to the top of the Plains from the Hondo, we saw in a small 
bluff the white chalky limestone of the upper beds. South of Roswell is 
an immense level plain extending as far as the eye can reach. ‘This 
immense plain can all be reached by water from the irrigating canal. 

Five miles from Roswell is South Spring creek. This is one of the 
largest springs in the Territory. The water has only been partly used 
for irrigation. It is now taken out by three canals. North Spring 
creek flows into the Hondo. Below the junction the Pecos Irrigation 
and Improvement Company have built their northern irrigation canal, 
which takes up also the water of South Spring creek. This canal, 
when completed, will be fifty miles long, thirty feet wide at the bottom, 
with a fall of one foot to the mile, and will carry a depth of five feet of 
water. 

We continued on the level plateau, and passed several new settle- 
ments preparing to use the water from this canal. ‘The settlers were 
digging wells for domestic purposes, water being obtained in great 
abundance ata depth of thirty feet. The material passed through in 
digging these wells was soft and chalky, and at other places a hard, 
white limestone, resembling the upper beds of the Staked Plains, and 
no doubt identical with them. 

Twelve miles from South Spring is a well at the stage stand forty 
feet deep. The only material passed through in digging this well was 
areddish sandy clay, resembling the lower part of the Blanco beds, 
and probably the same. The water in these wells is entirely free 
from salts, at least they could not be detected by taste. 

We made camp on the Felix creek. This stream has its source in 
the mountains to the west. At some time it has cut down through 
the limestone, but the valley has again been filled up with the drift 
material from the mountains. 

In a well dug in the valley water was found at a depth of twenty 
feet. It was dug all the way through the drift of sand and limestone 
pebbles to the clay. In some of the pebbles I found carboniferous 
fossils.. 


160 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


A few miles north of the canal, and on the opposite side of the river, 
are hills of red clay and sandstone. 

Far away to the eastward, probably twenty-five miles, can be seen 
the high escarpment of the Staked Plains extending apparently parallel 
with the river in an unbroken range. At that place it presents a white, 
bold, precipitous face, much the same as seen along the eastern escarp- 
ment. 

The soil we have been passing over since leaving Roswell is free from 
any efflorescence of salt, being in this respect different from the soils 
along the Pecos river north of that town. 

We continued along the Eddy road over a broad prairie, with an oc- 
casional patch of Quaternary drift composed of Carboniferous: lime- 
stone pebbles At ten miles we passed Tarr lake, a small body of 
water fed by springs. The water was quite salty. At eleven miles we 
passed the stage stand, where we got fresh water from a well twenty feet 
deep. At eighteen miles we turned eastward from the Eddy road three 
miles to a spring of fresh water. ‘The country is more broken than 
yesterday, but is all covered with Quaternary drift, so that the under- 
lying beds could not be seen. No kind of wood, except here and 
there a patch of mesquite, where the roots may be dug for wood. 

After leaving camp we passed within the distance of three miles two 
nice bold springs in the head of ravines. The water is almost entirely 
free from salts. Ata distance of five miles we again reach the Eddy 
road, and a mile further reach the Penasco river at Gilbert’s ranch. 
The water has nearly all been taken out of this river by irrigation 
ditches, one on each side. It has its source in the mountain range to 
the west, and the water is free from salts. Gilbert has a bois d’arc 
hedge around his place that seems to grow very luxuriantly, too much 
so in fact to make a good hedge. 

At one mile south of Gilbert’s we passed another spring of water. 
There was no exposure of the strata, it all being covered with Quater- 
nary drift from the mountains. We could see the red hills in the dis- 
tance on the east side of the Pecos river. 

At seven miles from Gilbert’s we reached Cook’s farm. This farm 
is irrigated with water taken out of Seven rivers. The water is free 
from salts, and the farm is devoted to raising alfalfa and Johnson grass. 
We camped at night at Seven Rivers, having traveled about twenty 
miles. 

At Seven Ries the Pecos runs against a bluff of limestone that 
very much resembles the magnesian limestone of the Permian, but we 
could find no fossils in any of the beds. 

A spur of the Guadalupe mountains comes to the Pecos at this 
point. The beds are white or slightly yellowish even textured lime- 
stone. They are probably Permian, but after diligent search we could 
find no fossils. These beds extend to Eddy, and at that place under- 


ss 6 


Mere 


Fig. 7. 


Section from Eddy, northeast and east to the top of the Staked Plains. 


.S. Salt lake. 


C. Clayton Wells. 


BE. Eddy. P. Pecos river. 


R. Estes ranch. 
1. Quartenary (?) conglomerate. 


4. Blanco beds, Tertiary. 


3. Dockum beds, Triassic. 
Horizontal scale, one inch to six miles. 


2. Permian. 


Vertical scale, one inch to one thousand feet. 


GEOLOGY. 161 


lie the town and extend across the 
Pecos river, on the east bank of which 
is a bed of conglomerate seventy-five 
feet thick, composed of boulders from 
the limestone strata west of the river, 
and siliceous pebbles. The matrix is 
rather coarse and calcareous. Five feet 
of the brownish banded segregated 
limestone lies on top of this conglom- 
erate. 

1. Conglomerate of large limestone 
pebbles, some of which are one to two 
feet in diameter, with a few small silice- 
ous pebbles scattered through it. The 
matrix is coarse sand and calcareous 
material. On top of the hill above this 
conglomerate is four or five feet of high- 
ly calcareous strata which very much 
resemble the top strata of the Tertiary 
further east. 

2. Gypsum beds as Permian. ‘This 
is a massive bed of gypsum, the lower 
part gypseous clays, and the top gyp- 
seous clays and white limestone. 

8. Dockum beds of sandy clays, 
clayey sands and sandstone. 

4, ‘Tertiary strata of the Staked 
Plains. 

5. A bed of white hardened sandy 
clay or clayey sand of Recent forma- 
tion and small extent. 

From Eddy northeast, twenty miles, 
to the Clayton Wells, and then east to 
the Estes ranch on top of the Plains, 
there are but two formations, consti- 
tuting most of the outcropping strata. 
From Eddy to the Clayton Wells is 
nearly all Permian, and from the Clay- 
ton Wells to Estes ranch is nearly all 
‘Tertiary. 

On the east side of the well opposite 
Eddy there is about seventy-five feet 
of Quaternary conglomerate, the peb- 
bles of limestone rock so much like the 
rock of the limestone strata west of town 


162 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


as to leave but little doubt that it was derived from that strata. This 
conglomerate forms isolated beds up and down the river, or lies in nar- 
row belts along the bank in places, the same as along Black river near 
Lookout. 

The limestone which outcrops west of Eddy extends across the river 
northeast of town, and forms a belt one or two miles wide on that side 
of the river. This belt extends with some breaks as far north as 
Seven Rivers. Six miles above Eddy, at the dam, this limestone forms 
a bed on both banks of the river. 

Northeast of the dam, and in places to the east, the surface is cov- 
ered with a belt of deep sand that extends north and south and hides 
nearly all the strata from view. 

East of the narrow belt of conglomerate are limestone and sand beds 
which extend along the river to the west of the escarpment of the 


springs at the Clayton Wells, at a distance of twelve or fourteen miles. . 


The outcropping strata are parts of the massive gypsum beds of the 
Permian. ‘This gypsum belt extends far up and down the river with 


varying width, and at places extends across and spreads out to a con-- 


siderable extent on either side, as between Eddy and Lookout. ‘This 
formation northeast of Eddy produces a slightly rolling surface with 
here and there small basins or depressions. 

Small caverns extend deep into the gypsum bed in many of these 
basins, and the drainage is mostly underground to these caverns. 
Sometimes no caverns can be seen, but a small depression covered with 
sand in the lower part, shows the outlet of the drainage for that basin. 
This massive gypsum bed is probably over one hundred feet thick, and 


contains some carbonate of lime and some earthy material. Planes of 


dark color are quite regularly distributed through it. All the outcrops 
are more or less disintegrated, and the ground is often covered with 
pulverized or disintegrated gypsum to such an extent that it looks a 
little like dirt mixed with powdered chalk spread over the ground. A 
well section just east of Eddy showed this massive gypsum bed to be 
overlaid by gypsiferous clay containing considerable salt. 

Indications are also that a thin bed of sandy gypsiferous clay some- 
times lies between the massive gypsum bed and the overlying white 
limestone. . 

Just south of the mouth of Black river, thirty or forty feet of sandy 
gypsiferous clay can be seen underlying the white limestone, and the 
base of the clay is not exposed. 

The low parts or swags in the gypsum beds often show a remarkable 
sub-irrigation by the growth of grass, weeds and mesquite bushes. In 
one of these swags, about five miles northeast of Eddy, an abundance 
of gypseous water is obtained at a depth of seven and eight feet, and 
corn, cane, pumpkins, etc., grow well without artificial irrigation. At 


GEOLOGY. 1638 


the Clayton Wells water is gotten at a depth of about twenty-five feet 
in such quantities that the wells have never been pumped dry. 

Twenty five miles further east, at the Estes ranch, in a swag on the 
top of the Plains, water in abundance is reached at a depth of fifteen 
and sixteen feet. The escarpment just east of Clayton Wells extends 
approximately north and south, and its basal part consists of forty or 
fifty feet of red clayey sands of the Dockum beds. 

Above the Dockum beds there is about one hundred feet of Tertiary 
sand capped with a few feet of hardened calcareous clay. Between 
this escarpment and the escarpment of the Plains proper, a distance of 
about twenty miles, nearly all the country is covered with deep loose 
sand and a growth of small ‘‘shinoaks.’’ ‘There is, however, a narrow 
belt, five or six miles long, extending east and west on either side of 
the Sait lake, that has only a little drift sand, the ground being quite 
firm and underlaid by a hard white clayey sand, which probably is a 
continuation of the Recent bed (5) found at Salt lake, though it may be 
Tertiary material. The bottom and lower parts and the west and south 
side of Salt lake aie Dockum beds, sandstone and sandy clay. é 

On the north side of the lake, about twenty feet above the bottom, 
is five or six feet of white hardened sandy clay that contains a great 
many Recent land shells, such as Pupa, Helix, Succinea, and Zonites, 
among the terrestrials, and Sphwrilum of the fluviatiles. 

The top of the Plains at the Estes ranch slopes gently down to the 
undulating country to the west, but the escarpment, whether general 
or abrupt, is but about fifty feet, and at the top twenty-five or thirty 
feet of this is the hardened clay and limestone. At the base of this is 
some of the pinkish brittle quartzitic sandstone, which has segrega- 
tions of clear and milky siliceous particles as also has the top limestone 
or clay.. In the sands about one and a half miles west of the above 
escarpment a well section shows a great many siliceous pebbles in some 
of the lower horizons of the Tertiary strata. 

We went south from Eddy to Lookout, near the mouth of Black 
river, a distance of fifteen miles. After the first six miles the way is 
mostly over disintegrated gypsum. Three miles north of Black river 
is a ridge thirty feet above the surrounding land, the top of which is a 
breccite limestone; the matrix and angular pieces of stone nearly the 
same material in color and texture, both resembling the limestone seen 
north of Eddy. 

On the west bank of the Pecos, about three miles below the mouth 
of Black river, are layers of yellowish, evenly textured, smooth lime- 
stone, fractured and full of seams, with gypsum and red clay below. 

A Quaternary conglomerate about thirty feet thick, of limestone 
boulders and siliceous pebbles, with a matrix of lime and sand, lies in 
Black river basin, through which the river for about four miles up 
from the mouth has cut its channel. A number of good springs flow 


164 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


from its base into the river. At Lookout this conglomerate extends 
two miles north of Black river, and it is found in the bed of the Pecos 
at the mouth of Black river forming a rough bottom for half a mile. 
Just east the conglomerate rises to the height of seventy feet above the 
river bed, and is capped by a limestone five or six feet thick, containing 
an occasional siliceous pebble and some sand, and resembling in lith- 
ological characters that often seen capping the strata of the Staked 
Plains. 

We traveled up Black river on the north side, and three miles west 
of Lookout found heavy bedded limestone on both sides. ‘The lime- 
stone is the same that occurs at the mouth of Delaware creek, and 
is no doubt Permian, yet no fossils were found init. ‘This bed of lime- 
stone was thought to be Cretaceous by Dr. Shumard, but he found no 
fossils, and placed it in the Cretaceous for stratigraphic reasons. It 
will be remembered that he put all the red beds, both of the eastern 
and western side of the Staked Plains, in the Cretaceous, under the 
name of Marly Clays. He found this limestone above the red clays, 
and very naturally concluded, in the absence of fossils, that it was 
Cretaceous. ) 

We continued up the river, passing Blue springs, the water from 
which is free from salts, and is used for irrigating the lands in this 


vicinity. There is a spur of the Guadalupe mountains on the north- 


west of our route running almost parallel with the course of the river. 
We are unable to see any part of the strata except the Quaternary con- 
glomerate. The high ridge of gypsum can be seen a few miles to the 
south. We camped at the head of Black river at night. © 

Near the head of the river the beds of massive gypsum are on the 
south side. ‘The head spring of the river is in a broad valley of erosion 
between the gypsum beds and the Guadalupe mountains, entirely cov- 
ered with Quaternary drift, and at this place about six miles wide. 
The water in the river, which evidently comes from the Quaternary drift, 
is only slightly impregnated with gypsum, and is used for irrigating the 
valleys below. 

We continued up the valley of erosion between the mountains on the 
west and the gypsum beds on the east, in about a due southwest course. 
In about ten miles we reached Grapevine springs at the headquarters 
of the U. S. ranch. The water is pleasant to the taste, but highly 
charged with carbonate of lime, and is partly used to irrigate a small 
farm planted in corn and Johnson grass. In the vicinity of the spring 
and below are heavy beds of calcareous tufa. 

Finding it impossible to get through the country with the wagons any 
further in that direction, we turned eastward a few miles and reached a 
road leading from the head of Black river to Delaware springs. At 
three miles we left the Quaternary drift, which is here composed of very 
large bowlders from the mountain, and entered. upon the Permian, the 


* 


ie a 
Aes 


GEOLOGY. CLG 


beds of which at this place are about two hundred feet thick, and the 
gypsum beds are very cavernous. Cedar trees growin places along the 
bluff. We camped in the valley without water, and with very poor 
grass. 

Upon reaching the road we turned almost directly south, and for 


‘about eight miles were on the gypsum beds; then, going down a steep 


hill, we found the sandstones of the Carboniferous in the valley, and 
three miles further reached Delaware springs, which was once a stage 
station on the overland mail route from California. There are several 
springs at this place, one of which, issuing from the Carboniferous 
strata, is highly impregnated with various saline matters, imparting a 
very disagreeable taste, and emitting the odor of sulphureted hydrogen, 
which can be detected for some distance. ‘he water that comes from 
the Quaternary drift, which here fills the valley, is pure and palatable. 

There have been heavy denudations of the strata in this vicinity, the 
hills being about two hundred and fifty feet high. 

The following section was made at a hill near the head of Delaware 


reek, on the north side of the valley: 


SECTION 24. 
SM CLUICECMMNEStORCIE tay he ke ai oe ge 6 ee eee ewe 50 feet. 
eet DE CUeU. LanestOue ir Sire kk ee hee Se 100 feet. 
BUEMRIT OSC eAitctGUC yA) ne ee ise Oe ee ve oe a 20 feet. 
Pepe INeStOue Vcilith DEOUEeG, oases tues ac ab het Sh oe Ts 3 feet. 
5. Sandstone, fine grained... .. . iy 2 Ae eae aaa PGR 2 ak,” 7 feet. 
Gee pandstone and limestone, interbedded ..0: 2. 2. 2. we 70 feet. 


250 feet. 


The shaly thin bedded ‘limestone in the bed of the creek, just above 
the upper spring, has very straight lines of fracture running across it 
in three directions. The drift sand is very deep in the vicinity of the 
springs, and covered with mesquite brush. 

We went down the Delaware on the north side for three miles, and 
then crossed to the south, following the road leading to Pecos City. 
Immediately after crossing the creek we came to the gypsum beds, 
which we ascended by several steppes for about one hundred and fifty 
feet. They are mostly decomposed white gypsum, with seams of car- 
bonate of lime. ‘Ten miles further we camped at Castile springs, which 
issue from the massive gypsum at the head of a deep canyon which ex- 
tends to the Delaware six miles north. The water is heavily charged 
with gypsum, the pool at.the spring being a deep green color, and quite 
bitter. We had been informed that there was a bed of native sulphur 
in this vicinity, but after a diligent search for it for two days were unable 
to find it. 

Four miles south of our camp is a deep canyon cut down into the 
massive gypsum. ‘There are a few cedar trees growing on this canyon 
as well as at other places near. 


166 » LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


We moved our camp about five miles northeastward along the road 
to a spring of gypseous water. On the top of some of the highest 
hills we have seen fragments of limestone that very much resemble the 
Permian limestone east of the Plains, but have not found the beds from 
which the fragments come. There were no fossils in them. 

We continued along the Pecos City road, passing through a gap be- 
tween a range of hills about a hundred and fifty feet high, capped with 
magnesian limestone which is no doubt Permian, though we could find 
no fossils after a most diligent search. The range of hills running from 
northeast to southwest are probably the same beds seen at the mouth of 
Delaware creek. | 

Six miles further we reached Screw-bean springs, a bold running 
stream of gypseous water which flows into the Pecos river. At this 
place we reached the road from Eddy to Pecos City. From this ts 
the road is a straight line. 

This is the last permanent water on the road until we get near Pecos 
City, but at fifteen miles we were fortunate enough to find a pool of 
water made by recent rains, otherwise we should have had to make the 
whole distance, forty miles, without water for our stock. 

From Screw-bean spring to Pecos City the country is covered with 


Quaternary drift, so that nothing else was seen. Formerly when all 


the traffic for eastern New Mexico passed over this road, the citizens of 
Pecos City had wells dug at convenient distances to supply the freighters, 
but since the building of the railroad from Pecos City to Eddy this road 
has been less used, and the wells have not been kept up. There are no 
settlements of any kind on the road from Screw-bean to Pecos City, not 
even stock ranches. The grass in places is good, but there is no water 
for any purpose. 

We crossed to the east side of the Pecos river at Pecos City, and 
camped about fourteen miles below, where we found Permian beds of 
red clay and gypsum, with the bed of Quaternary drift on top of the red 
clay. This camp is about south of Quito station. 

Continuing down the river, at about three miles, we come to the 
massive beds of red sandstone that is being so extensively quarried 
west of Quito. I think this sandstone is Triassic. It is underlaid by 
red clay with selenite. 

We continued down the river to the falls. ‘The valley on the east 
side is about one mile wide and widens to three or more on the south, 
and then closes in again at the falls to one half mile. The escarpment 
on the east is not more than thirty feet high, and is always capped by 
the white conglomeritic limestone so characteristic of the Blanco beds. 
This rock here contains sand, siliceous pebbles, and pieces of red sand- 
stone, and is from three to five feet thick. 

There are two falls in the river at this place in a distance of about 
one hundred yards. The upper fall is about three and a half feet and 


° 


GEOLOGY. 167 


the lower about five and a half feet. The stone making the falls isa 
coarse conglomerate composed of carboniferous, porphyritic and sili- 


-ceous rocks with a light sand matrix slightly ferruginous. 


We continued down the river thirty-eight miles to Horsehead Cross- 
ing, traveling along on the flat valley of the river. The low escarp- 
ment facing the valley was red marly gypseous clay overlaid uncon- 
formably by ten feet of red slightly argillaceous sand, and this was 
overlaid by ten feet of the white conglomeritic limestone so character- 
istic of the upper beds of the Staked Plains. 

We here left the river and took the road to Castle Gap, camping ten 
miles further on, and seven miles beyond passed through Castle Gap. 
The strata seen between Castle Gap and the Pecos river was the upper 
limestone of the Staked Plains and the deep sand beds that had formed 
above it. The following is a section of Castle mountain: 


SECTION 25. 
OSLO CN UATOM EEE Gr ys pg i SRI TS ke ME Ree en 6 feet. 
Buea HULTNestane inert desl ek a eg BET ts + ee teet, 
BeelAmestone 2.5.9.0’. ; 49 LEE ee LIER ae Bae re bs 20 feet. 
SMe ee teeta ere eres ale) ROAR le br. tdi tata oa Rol 30 feet. 
reray CLO INIy Pe ee aera Sh APD ei Sy By vs oo ce Pee deeb 
ASL UALORSICNT ga 012) Re a A A - 60 feet. 
Mere VC LlOWicit Winitemuanrs A eh ee 20 feet. 
moe limestone, rotten . 2 i403... RL FAME TL ah REL. ar A. Soren ho. 5 feet. 
ENCE OTN eR ED Sie AS LA Sle le ae egal 80 feet. 
RECOM ACU NT) eed eeke um rl pike A ee a > wt ve hhSO feet, 
MePLT a CATGOTIS SANMStONel, hil. se eek gid ele cs eo eke «ait ler ion toUateets 
Perc ouelomerticsandstone:)9. 62). 8%5 ee ed bk he le , . . 80 feet. 


418 feet. 


No. 1 of this section is firm, evenly weathering white limestone, that 
would make very good building stone. The layers are ebout two to 
three feet thick. | 

No 2 is alternating clay and argillaceous limestone layers, containing 
a large number of Diadema, Towaster tewanus, Pecten texanus, some 
Arca, several species of gasteropods and a small Gryphea pitcher. 


No. 3 is a white crumbling limestone, forming a prominent horizon 
that stands out beyond the rock below and above, as it resists the at- 
mospheric influences better than they. 

No. 4 is a crumbling white argillaceous limestone, somewhat similar 
to the one above. 

No. 5 is a clay containing a great number of Gryphwa pitcheri and 
a few Hxogyra texana, } 

No. 6. White crumbling limestone containing a few fossils. 

No. 7 is an argillaceous bed containing Arcopagia, Lima wacoensis, 
Toxaster texanus, Arca, Ammonites, Diadema, Pecten texana. 

No. 8 is a slightly ferruginous limestone containing many small 

Gryphea pitcheri, 


168 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


No. 9 is a nearly uniform friable white limestone, though it has 
some layers of marly material that weathers more rapidly. The most 
common fossils are Arca, Toxaster tecanus, Diadema, Pecten and small 
Grypheea pitcheri. 

No. 10 is a white compact sand containing a few siliceous pebbles 
and calcareous pink sandstone near the top, which is slightly fossilifer- 
ous. ‘This strata shows a graduation into the one below. 

No. 11 is a massive calcareous sandstone. It has much white sand, 
but the wéathered surface of the rock is always brown. ‘The rock 
varies in its proportion of lime, but this never becomes the principal 
ingredient of the stone, except in streaks. False-bedding occurs in 
places, and a few siliceous pebbles are found in the bed at some of the 
localities. The stone is generally firm and weathers into large bowlders, 


yet there are one or two layers of friable stone in*the middle of the 
bed. 


No. 12 is a red friable conglomeritic sandstone, very much resem- 
bling the characteristic Triassic bed at Dockum. Hardened small 
pieces of calcareous clay and sand, of yellowish and brown colors, and 
pieces of red sandstone and calcite make up the mass of rock. At the 
center and top of this stratum, as seen here, the rock is a shaly mica- 
ceous red sandstone and red marly clay. 

We continued along the old Centralia road about twenty miles. The 
Castle mountains escarpment that faced the north and ran nearly par- 
allel with our route yesterday now turns to the southeast. About ten 
miles of the road traveled to-day was rolling or gently sloping plains. 
The outcropping was the lower part of the Cretaceous limestone. 

We traveled to Centralia and camped five miles east of it on the San 
Angelo road, going down off the upper plains into a water drainage 
canyon, and in passing down crossed over the Caprina limestone. 

At Centralia station and elsewhere along the canyon there is about 
fifty feet of the Caprina horizon shown in the escarpment facing the 
valley. About forty feet of this bed is well exposed, and consists of 
several layers of firm, evenly textured white limestone from one to 
two feet thick, with thinner intervening layers. A great many of these 
layers have an oolitic appearance... Nearly all of them would make ex- 
cellent building material. Three of the thickest—one near the top, 
one in the middle, and one at the bottom of the section—contain a 
great number of the Caprina and Caprotina fossils as well as some other 
forms; also a great many flint nodules which are usually fossiliferous, 
porous and slightly calcareous. The barometric height of the Caprina 
limestone at this place is two thousand five hundred and twenty feet. 

There are numbers of wells in this valley of excellent water, ranging 
in depth from twenty-five to one hundred and twenty-five feet. 

We continued along the same valley twelve miles and reached the 
middle fork of theConcho river; then down the river twelve miles and 


eae 


GEOLOGY. 169 


camped on the north side. Charlotte postoffice is about one mile west 
of camp. At that place the following section of the strata was made: 


SECTION 26. 
BERR TN ESLOTION Fie trees Cae yh a ee es ES cea je ge 10 feet. 
UIBEEEUUCMITINCEL GR Gers <(0. 2) Lah Co ia tame wr eee eee UE gh. 32 feet. 
3. Massive arenaceous limestone SME RA Yc oy hc gen | Pat ane 38 feet. 
SIR ICNMULTOLIGEC SACs trot ds) con Ad Oa aed Patek eas a 40 feet. 
DRG RISC etIniiOi Clay. ot eS hod Be ybah teh ay clieirsioe col as aes 3 feet. 


123 feet. 


No. 1 of this section is generally a white, evenly textured, firm lime- 
stone, in layers from one inch to two feet thick, containing layers of 
flint nodules and Caprina and Caprotina fossils. This is the lower part 
of the bed seen at Centralia. 

No. 2 is a massive bed of limestone in layers, some of which weather 
into a honey comb structure or surface. A large part of it is a white 
argillaceous stone that readily crumbles into angular pieces, and it also 
has flint nodules and Caprotina fossils in several of the layers. 

No. 3 is a massive arenaceous brownish limestone that weathers rather 
easily. Some of the layers are harder than others, making projecting 
and receding rounded layers of scalloped profile. : 

No. 4 is a compact, iron stained, yellow, stratified sand, some of the 
layers ten feet thick. At the top is eight feet of arenaceous yellow 
clay and shaly sandstone. One inch layer near the center has a great 
many siliceous pebbles. One thin bed of red clay also occurs near the 
Center. - r 

No. 5 is a deep vermilion red, marly clay, slightly arenaceous. The 
base of the bed was not seen. 

About fifteen miles down the river we came to the Quaternary con- 
glomerate, and continuing on, camped one mile from San Angelo, at 
which place our work ended. 

Having given thus in detail the constitution and variations of the 
several beds observed in this trip around the Plains, it may be well to 
review briefly the character and extent of the different formations whose 
‘presence was determined. 


QUATERNARY. 


At many places on top of the Staked Plains occur beds of sand, gravel 
and bowlders, much water-worn, that I have referred to the Quaternary. 
On the higher plateaus and in the valleys of the rivers east of the 
Staked Plains the same character of material occurs. I have also seen. 
it east of the Wichita mountains in the Indian Territory. East of the 
Staked Plains this drift is mixed with material from the Triassic, but 
so distinctive is the character of the bowlders, they are easily recognized 
wherever seen. 


170 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


This Quaternary is different from the later deposits of that period 
found along all the creeks and rivers on both the eastern and western 
sides of the Staked Plains. In the later there are a great many fossils, 
both vertebrate and invertebrate, but in the earlier none have been found 
except fragments of silicified wood, and that only from the beds east of 
the Staked Plains. 

The later beds along the Big Wichita river are often one hundred 
and fifty feet below the earlier deposits, and these later beds are often 
one hundred feet above the present channel of the Big Wichita and 
Brazos rivers. ‘ ; 

West of the Staked Plains the later Quaternary conglomerate is in 
the beds of the rivers and creeks and one still later is spread out over 
large areas as if there had been an interior lake basin with its deepest 
side on the east next to the Plains. 


TERTIARY: 


In both the First and Second Annual Reports of this Survey the beds 
which I have described under the name of Blanco Canyon beds have 
been correlated with the Tertiary. 

The only fossils collected from these beds were vertebrate. They 
were sent to Professor E. D. Cope, of Philadelphia, Pa., who in a private 
letter writes that the beds are Pliocene and probably belong between the 
Equus and Loup Fork beds. <A paper on these fossils by Professor 
Cope will be found elsewhere in this Report. 

Besides having traveled entirely around the Staked Plains, I explored 
several of the deep canyons extending back into the high plateau, and 
everywhere north of the Texas and Pacific Railroad the upper strata 
belong to the Blanco beds, except a narrow border along the eastern 
side, patches of Quaternary drift, recent soils, sand dunes, and a few 
small areas of Cretaceous. 

The following are some of the sections made of the Blanco beds at 
various localities; the numbers are the same as those used on the map: 


SECTION 13. 
At the foot of the Staked Plains, three miles north of Dockum: 

1. White sandy clay oa. 4/0) ot Re Ae eee ec 6 feet. 
2. White diatomaceous earth: ae ane i 3 feet. 
or Purple: clay 330. irs io eg ee ae 3 feet 
4 White diatomaceous earths, 954 02 et i eG ar 4 feet 
&. eReddish sandy clay. ui Ph 0a) ps CSpot semen nn ai resee, i ae Gm me 150 feet. 

166 feet. 


In the beds Nos. 2 and 4 of the above section there are many diatoms. 
The material is very light and soft, like chalk. In No.1 occurs a fossil 
land tortoise recently described by Professor Cope. 


mf 6 FY bs Fl et 


GEOLOGY. 1%2 


SECTION 12. 
One mile south of Mount Blanco, Crosby county: 

(a Ro 9 ge aa eae, Ae cul 0 (01 a 8 feet. 
SSNS 125 oR TE Sd Oe 2 feet 
SE CC Or etree Wc. sy. 4, Go oe eh eee ely ee 3 feet 
PUESTITCRLOUC MELAIACEIUUS rR. Tela i oe te ee eee Tock og 4 feet. 
memmev tte calcareous santstone . .)...5. 0. he See a Wee 10s it 4 feet, 
CP rSA NOMEN VC tec. ee ude chee oe) Sy 30 feet 
ey ive miiatomaceous Gatth.. 2.7... ere. 4 feet 
RUE RET Cee ee ti Ot TS TR ee age a 20 feet 
Semis erGiatomaceous eAtth:. Ys... Sof we ee Es, 8 feet 
emmoteciish SAandy-Clay aio. ek ME tM and ei Ce 30 feet. 
SET oe ES ON EAD 5) 2 ar es a 2).feet. 
RN Yt ed rar, sp ve,” als) wg Ta eee ou Wet ee eee 30 feet 
145 feet. 


SECTION 13. 
One-half mile west of Mount Blanco postoffice, and one and a half 
miles north of the preceding section: 


Re Terre? Can ime ee re ee YO ee le Sms eae 2 feet. 
RIC Clsiea ONG eke ee a ee wee het eee 10 feet. 
& med clay (same as No. 12, preceding section)........ 2... iu. 130 feet. 

142 feet. 


It will be seen from the two preceding sections that the strata change 
considerably in short distances. In the last section the intermediate 
beds are entirely absent. 


SECTION 14. 
Three miles northwest of Rock House, northeast of Dockum: 
DIET MG PLOT OL I MALUS SUG of oe ee bal as el RE ee ees 10 feet. 
ECPIRM AV RM SRR eS kek Sept 10 feet. 
EE SRC CL Ee ca Sew oe Le as Agha es .-. . 180 feet. 


200 feet. 

For further sections of the Tertiary reference is made to the general 
statement preceding this. 

It has been suggested that the formation of the Staked Plains was 
once continuous from the mountains in New Mexico to the beds in 
Fayette county, fifty miles below Austin. This seems to me, however, 
to rest on nothing but the assumption that the beds of the Staked Plains 
and the Fayette beds are the same, of which, so far as I know, no proof 
has been offered. The Fayette beds lie below the ‘‘Coast Clays’’ and 
the more recent limestone and pebble deposits, and above the upper- 
most stratum of the Marine-Tertiary, and have been correlated with 
the ‘‘Grand Gulf’’ of Hilgard, by Dr. Penrose, in the First Annual 
Report of the Texas Geological Survey, who based his conclusions upon 
personal examination of the strata and a collection of a great deal of 
material. 


172 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


The Staked Plains have not heretofore been studied in anything like 
a connected or systematic way, and have been seen only at widely sep- 
arated localities. During the past year’s field work sections of the 
strata have been made at a great many places and on all sides of the 
high plateau, and they afford no evidence of identity with the Fayette 
beds, either of a lithological or paleontological character, Indeed I 
see no evidence whatever that the Blanco beds ever extended much 
further eastward than the present eastern escarpment of the Staked 
Plains. ‘There is certainly no remnant of the formation on any of the 
high hills or mountains east of the present Plains, and besides it is 
only the upper part of the Blanco beds that were deposited upon the 
Cretaceous along the eastern side of the Plains. Had it been the lower 
beds only that remained it might have gone to show that the others 


had been destroyed by erosion and that a deep sea had once covered 
the area. : 


Another fact going to show that the shore-line was not far east of the 
present limits of the Plains is that while the Tertiary formation as a 
whole thickens towards the northwest, it is the lower beds only that 
thicken. ‘The upper bed of limestone is about the same at all places. 

There is direct proof, moreover, that there was certainly an old shore- 
line during the early part of the Staked Plains Tertiary, extending 
from a point where the east line of Garza county crosses the Double 
Mountain Fork of the Brazos river, and running thence in a southwest- 
erly direction to thé Pecos river. Along that line the lower beds of the 
Tertiary lie against the high Cretaceous bluffs to the southward; and 
the same may be said of it at the head of Fossil creek near Tucumceari 
Mount, New Mexico. The Tucumcari beds, which are Cretaceous, 
have only the upper limestone of the Blanco beds on top at their most 
northern occurrence, but further southward, where they form part of 
the escarpment of the Staked Plains, the lower beds are found resting 
against and upon the Cretaceous beds. 


CRETACEOUS. 


The Cretaceous strata underlie the southern part of the Staked Plains, 
and form part of the escarpment on the eastern and southwestern sides 
and for a very short distance along the northern side in the vicinity of 
Mount Tucumcari, New Mexico. ‘The formation is also seen at places 
as inliers in the midst of the Staked Plains: 

The Cretaceous, wherever seen, rests directly upon the Triassic, and 
is practically conformable in stratification with it, having a slight dip © 
to the southeast. 3 

A line drawn from a point on the Double Mountain Fork of the 
Brazos river, where it crosses the eastern line of Garza county, and 
running thence southwestward to the southeast corner of Reeves county, 
on the Pecos river, would represent the northwestern extension of the 


GEOLOGY. 173 


Cretaceous formation, as it now exists under the Plains. The strata 
do not show all along this line, being covered almost continually with 
the Tertiary, and can only be seen at a few places, but in a great num- 
ber of wells put down north of that line only the Tertiary strata were 
found. At Odessa, on the line of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, a 
well was sunk several hundred feet, and it was found that the Tertiary 
rested directly upon the red clays. At Deadman’s cut, west of Odessa, 
a bed of Cretaceous occurs with a small Gryphea, probably the small 
form of the Gryphwa pitcheri, Morton. 

At the eastern escarpment of the Plains the highest beds of the 
Cretaceous are the Caprina limestone, resting on the Hvogyra texana 
and Gryphwa bed, and below that the Trinity sands. The extreme 
northern occurrence is at the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos 


river. On the south side of the river a hill, three hundred and seventy 


feet high, stands with a bold perpendicular front, facing the north and 
northwest. ‘The lower part is Triassic, but about one hundred and 
fifty feet is Cretaceous, with about three feet of Tertiary limestone on 
the top. On the north side of the river, directly opposite this Creta- 
ceous escarpment, are hills of similar height with the same Tertiary 
limestone on top, but the Cretaceous is wanting, and there is about 
seventy-five feet of Tertiary resting directly upon the Triassic. The 
Triassic strata are about the same on both sides of the river. 

The structure of the high hills on the south side of the river, four 
or five miles west of the Cretaceous hill mentioned, is the same as that 
of. those on the north side, and the same condition exists. On the 
head of Morgan’s creek, in the northern part of Howard county, but 
south of Gail, between the Colorado river and the Double Mountain 
Fork of the Brazos, the Cretaceous strata again appear between the 
Tertiary and Triassic. 

From the Double Mountain Fork northward to the Canadian river 
the Tertiary rests upon the Triassic. ‘There is not a single place where 
there is any Cretaceous between them, but in the lower Tertiary beds 
at different places water-worn fossils of the Cretaceous, generally 
Gryphea pitcheri, are often found. 

From the northeastern corner of the Staked Plains near the Canadian 
river to the west line of the State there is no Cretaceous, and the only 
place where the Cretaceous is found along the northern escarpment is 
at the head of Fossil creek, in the vicinity of Mount Tucumcari, New 
Mexico, where there is an exposure a few miles in length. 

The formation there has been described under the head of Tucumcari 
beds, and is much later than the beds anywhere along the eastern 
escarpment of the Staked Plains. If the Lower Cretaceous was ever 
deposited at that place it had been entirely eroded before the later 
deposition. ‘This bed was placed by Professor Jules Marcou in the 


174 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


Jurassic, but the fossils show very plainly that it is Cretaceous, and 
not earlier than the Fredericksburg division. | 

The Cretaceous formation does not occur anywhere along the western 
escarpment of the Staked Plains, nor until we reach Castle mountain, 
in Crane county, where the beds are all lower than the Caprina lime- 
stone, the base of which is probably the top of the section, which 
would indicate a considerable thickening of the beds towards the south. 

West of the Pecos river, at Kent, a station on the Texas and Pacific 
Railroad, the Cretaceous occurs in hills three hundred and eighty feet 
high. The top of thesection is the Arietina clay, and near the bottom we 
found Ostrea quadriplicata and other fossils of the Washita division. 
These beds rest upon and against the igneous rocks of the Davis 
mountains. In all the country east of the mountain range and west of 
the Pecos river, there is no Cretaceous after leaving ‘Tucumcari until 
these beds are reached, just south of the southern end of the Guada- 
lupe mountains. 


TRIASSIC. 


The Triassic formation is the basal part of the escarpment of the 
Staked Plains on all sides. Itis composed of clays, sandstones and con- 
glomerates, and lies unconformably upon the Permian. In all parts of 
the area where it has been examined, it has a slight dip to the south- 
east. \ 

Mr. N. F. Drake has prepared a report upon this formation, and 
reference is made to it for further description. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 175 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 


WATER. 


Formerly it was supposed that it would be very difficult to get water 
on the Plains. ‘The first roads and trails made by the Americans across 
the plateau were from the Horsehead crossing of the Pecos river and 
the mouth of the Delaware to Big Springs. The distance between these 


- points is about one hundred and sixty-five miles,'and between them no 


permanent water was found, and only immediately after the rains was 
any water standing in the shallow lakes, which could not be relied 
upon, as evaporation is so great that the pools soon dry up. 

During the time of the great immigration from the east to California, 
just after the finding of gold in that State, thousands of cattle and 
scores of people perished for lack of water in attempting to cross the 
Plains. It has been demonstrated more recently, however, that shallow 
wells can be had everywhere at moderate depth, that will furnish prac- 
ticably inexhaustible water. Their depth is from twenty to three hun- 
dred feet according to locality. _ At the base of the Cretaceous formation 
is a bed of sand and gravel known as the Trinity sands, and wherever 
it extends under the Staked Plains abundance of water is always found 
init. ‘There is also a water-bearing stratum at the base of the Tertiary 
formation, and it is only necessary to pierce this stratum in order to 
secure a bountiful supply of good water. 

The entire area of the Staked Plains is covered by one or the other 
of these formations. ‘The partigular area covered by each wiil be more 
fully described in another place in this report. 

The difference in the depths of these wells at which the water-bear- 
ing beds are reached, results from the fact that the upper strata are 


- thicker in one place than in another. The Tertiary thickens toward 


the northwest. At Big Springs it is not over twenty feet thick, while in 
the vicinity of Tucumcari it is not less than three hundred feet, so it 
may be stated as a general proposition that water will be found at greater 
depths towards the northwest. Hundreds of wells have been put down 
on all parts of the Staked Plains, and I have never heard of a single 
failure to secure water where the depth was sufficient to reach either of 
the water-bearing beds mentioned. 

The dip.of the strata comprising the upper Plains formation is from 
northwest to southeast, and the water in the water-bearing beds 
flows with the dip. There are places where these beds have been 
cut into by the canyons, and if an attempt should be made near one on 
the east or south side, there might be a failure to obtain water, but it 
has been demonstrated in several instances that an abundant quantity 
could be had a mile or two away. 


176 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


.. The water in the shallow wells generally rises several feet above the 

water-bearing stratum, and stands at that height. This has been thought 
by many to be an indication that artesian water would be found by sink- 
ing the well to a greater depth; but they are mistaken, because the 
water bearing stratum reached in these shallow wells lies at the base of 
the catchment formation, and the flow and pressure of water in any lower 
bed could not be indicated by the pressure found in this one. 


LAKES AND POOLS. 


At many places there are depressions or basins in which water collects 
during the rainy season and remains several months. The origin of 
these basins is unknown. They area peculiar feature of the topogra- 
phy of the Plains, some of them being as much as twenty or thirty feet 
below the surrounding level; but generally they are only a few feet 
below. ‘Their sides are generally a gentle slope.. I remember but one 
of many examined having abrupt sides, showing the beds composing 
the strata; and in some respects that basin presented different conditions 
and probably ought not to be classed with the others. 

It has been suggested that these lakes might be made pérnanene 
storage reservoirs by dredging them out, and by confining the water to 
a smaller area prevent a too rapid evaporation; but the danger to be 
apprehended is, that the beds below the present bottom would not be 
impervious and at once drain off the water. A few experiments would 
test the matter. 

These lakes often comprise several hundred acres, and many of them 
are covered with tule, and a peculiar kind of grass which makes an 
excellent hay when cut at the proper season. 


SPRINGS. 


All the rivers along the eastern side of the Plains are supplied with 
water by springs mostly from the base of the Cretaceous and Tertiary; 
but in some instances from the Triassic. 

The following is a description of some of them: 

BIG SPRINGS. 

These springs come from the Trinity sands and issue beneath a massive 
bowlder of limestone, containing many Gryphea pitcheri and EKuogyra 
texana, about one hundred and fifty feet below the bed of the same 
limestone on the surrounding hills, and seems to have dropped down 
in a gulch in the Trinity sands washed out by the waters flowing from 
the spring. Water which comes down a ravine above during rains and 
falls over the bowlder has cut out a basin from ten to twenty feet deep 
and thirty feet wide, in which the water usually stands. ‘This spring 
is not like those at the heads of the Concho rivers, whose waters flow 
off in bold running streams.. The water in this spring sinks into the 
sand and gravel, flowing only in times of rainy weather. There is suffi- 


he 30 
ee 4: 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. Vee 


cient water to supply the town of Big Springs and the machine shops of 
the Texas and Pacific Railroad, located at this place. The pumps are 
placed at the springs and the water is forced into a tank on a hill be- 
tween the springs and the town, and delivered at the town from mains. 
The springs furnish 100,000 gallons of water per day. 


MOSS SPRING. 

Six miles east of Big Springs is a large spring of pure fresh water 
known as Moss spring. ‘The water runs into a large pool below and 
sinks into the sand. This spring is probably one hundred feet lower 
than Big Springs. ‘The Cretaceous and Triassic formations have both 
been eroded entirely here and a conglomerate formed of the broken 
down material, from which the water issues. | 

In the vicinity of Moss spring are several other small sprirgs that 
are of no particular note. 

- WILD HORSE. 

Thirteen miles north of Big Springs are Wild Horse springs, which 
furnish only a small amount of water from the base of the Tertiary 
formation. 

At these springs the fossil remains of a large animal, probably a 
mastodon or mammoth, were unearthed a few years ago, of which I 
saw only the fragments of the bones of one leg. 


ARTESIAN WATER. 


A very important question to be determined is the probability of 
obtaining artesian water on the Staked Plains. What I mean by 
“artesian water,’’ is water that will flow at the surface from deep 
sources. As early as 1853, when a survey was made across these Plains 
for a railroad route from the Mississippi river to the Pacific coast under 
the direction of the Secretary of War of the United States, a report 
was made stating that it was possible artesian water could be obtained, 
and an effort was made by Captain Pope, in 1858, to bore an artesian 
well, about fifteen miles east of the mouth of Delaware creek; but 
failing to secure flowing water, no further effort was made by the Gov- 
ernment. 

A great number of wells have been bored, ranging in depth from 


” fifty to three hundred feet, and in all of them water has been found, 


and in many it rises several feet above the water-bearing stratum. It 
was thought and asserted by the well-borers that if they had continued 
boring flowing water would have been obtained. 

Certain conditions are absolutely necessary in order that flowing 
water may be obtained at a given point, and if any one of these condi- 
tions are wanting, though the others exist, water will not flow. Here- 
tofore so little has been known about these conditions in connection 


- with the Staked Plains, no definite conclusion could be reached as to 


the probability of artesian water being found ‘there. In a report by 


178 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


Professor E. I’. Dumble, State Geologist of Texas, in 1890, to the 
United States Secretary of Agriculture, on the existence of artesian 
water west of the 97th meridian, he says: ‘‘Our knowledge of its (the 
Staked Plains) geology is too limited to permit anything but the most 
general statement. * * * It will require a considerable amount of 
work in eastern New Mexico to decide the matter finally.’’ 

During last summer I made extensive examinations of the country, 
both in Texas and eastern New Mexico, for the purpose of collecting 
such facts as would furnish a basis for a definite conclusion upon the 
subject, and found that the following geological formations lie one 
above the other, extending under a part or the whole of the Staked 
Plains: ‘Tertiary, Cretaceous, Triassic, Permian and Carboniferous. 

No artesian water can be found in the Tertiary, for the reason that 
there is no continuous impervious strata above the water-bearing 
stratum. ‘There is an abundance of water at the base of that forma- 
tion, and the elevation is sufficient to force it to the top of the Plains 
along the eastern edge if there was an impervious bed above and be- 
low; but there is not, and the canyons cut across the strata to the very 
base, so that water in the water-bearing stratum north or northwest of 
them finds its exit into them, and therefore cannot rise above. 

The water that rises in the shallow wells is found in this water-bear- 
ing stratum at the bottom of the Tertiary, and there is no relation — 
between it and water that may be found at a lower depth; therefore 
the fact that the water in some of these shallow wells rises several feet 
is no indication that water found below and in a different formation 
would rise to the top. The small flowing wells reported from the 
Staked Plains have been bored in the canyons, where the erosion has 
not yet cut through the entire Tertiary strata, and where the top of 
the well is much below the top of the Plains. 

The next formation below is the Cretaceous. It does not extend to 
the western or northern escarpment of the Plains, but is only below a 
part of the southeastern area. No artesian water can be found in it 
for the reason that there is not sufficient elevation to force the water to 
the top of the Plains, even if the other conditions were favorable. 
There is no catchment area exposed at the surface anywhere along the 
northwestern border of the Cretaceous, for it is overlaid by the Ter- — 
tiary. This, however, would not prevent there being plenty of water 
in the sands at the base of the Cretaceous to give an abundant supply, 
for the reason that the water-bearing stratum of the Tertiary rests 
directly against the Trinity sands along the old northwestern shore- 
line of the Cretaceous, and all the water that is in the Lower Tertiary 
is at once taken up by the Trinity sands and carried by them to the 
lower level. 

That there is a large quantity of water in the lower beds of Creta- 
ceous is Shown by the fact of its being found everywhere in shallow 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 179 


wells, and by the amount that flows from the many large springs along 


the Concho rivers, all of which have their source at the base of this for- 
mation; but deep canyons have also cut across these beds, which pre- 
vent the water receiving pressure from the northern extension of the 
formation under the Staked Plains. 

The next underlying formation that could be looked to for artesian 
water is the Triassic. ‘This formation is the base of the escarpment of 
the Staked Plains on the east, north and west. It has a slight dip to 
the southeast, and if the other conditions were favorable there is suffi- 
cient elevation of the northwestern outcrops to force water to the top 
of the plains along the eastern half. There is water in some places in 
the Triassic strata, but the water-bearing bed is not homogeneous, is 
not a continuous water-bearing sheet, and there are places.where it is 
cut into by the deep canyons, the water collected north or northwest 
coming out in springs along their sides. 

The next underlying formation is the Permian, which outcrops on 
all sides of the plains except the south. On the eastern, it dips to the 


_ northwest, and on the western, to the southeast. The Staked Plains 


may therefore be said tc be in a Permian basin. Along the foot of the 
mountain range west of the Pecos river and south of Roswell, in New 


‘Mexico, the Permian is overlaid by the Tertiary. 


The Pecos river has cut down into the Permian strata from the 
mountain range to the furtherest extension south of that formation. 
Therefore any western “elevation that a water-bearing stratum may 
have would not be continuous to the Plains, and the elevation of the 
strata at the Pecos river would be the limit that could be taken into 
calculation in estimating the probability of artesian water on the 
Plains having a western source. The highest point along the line of 


the Texas and Pacific Railroad is at Duro, which is thirty-one hundred 


feet above sea level. The bed of the Pecos river at the mouth of Seven 
Rivers, in New Mexico, has the same elevation, so that any stratum 
of water that would flow at Duro, must necessarily have its catchment 
area north of the mouth of Seven Rivers. Then if we take into con- 
sideration the friction of water in passing through any material found 
in the Permian, it would reduce the chances of reaching the top of the 
Plains, even if such a stratum existed, except at the extreme south- 
eastern side. A well was put down at Big Springs six hundred feet 
through the red clays of the Permian, and the water rose to within 
four feet of the top of the well, which is fifty feet above the railroad 
track. ‘The source of this water is probably along the Pecos river. 

At Odessa, whose altitude is twenty-nine hundred feet above sea 


level, a well was put down eight hundred and thirty-two feet, passing 


through nearly seven hundred feet of the Permian red clay, without 
finding water. Several wells have been put down as deep as four hun- 


180 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


dred feet after reaching the red clay of the Permian, at different places 
in Howard county, but without finding water. 

There is another fact to be taken into consideration in regard to 
water found in the Permian—all of it would be so highly impregnated 
with chloride of sodium, and often with other salts, that it would be 
unfit for any purpose. Even if a bountiful supply of flowing water 
could be obtained, the chances are that it would be worthless. 

The next formation is the Carboniferous. It outcrops below the 
Permian the entire extent of that formation east of the Plains, and 
also west of the Pecos river. On the east it dips to the northwest, and 
on the west toward the southeast. The beds of this formation are 
nowhere cut into by the Pecos river, and the elevation of any catch- 
ment area west of that river is sufficient to cause a flow of the water at 
the surface anywhere on the Staked Plains. I know of no faults or 
breaks in the strata that would prevent the flow when it is once in the 
stratum, and the probabilities are that no such breaks exist. There is 
known to be artesian water in the Carboniferous formation west of the 
Pecos river, and there is no reason known to me why it does not flow 
or extend under the Staked Plains. At Toyah, twenty miles west 
of the Pecos river, on the line of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, 
at an altitude of twenty-nine hundred and seventy-five feet above sea 
level, water was found in the Carboniferous at a depth of eight hun- 
dred and thirty-two feet, which flows three hundred gallons per minute, 
and would probably rise toa much greater height, enough at least to 
cause it to flow at the highest point of the Staked Plains, or anywhere 
east, if the water-bearing stratum should be penetrated. The only 
question then remaining is the depth at which this water could be 
reached. This can only be approximated. Any boring would first 
have to pass through the Tertiary, or Tertiary and Cretaceous, about 
two hundred feet; then the Triassic, two hundred and fifty feet; then 
the Permian, which, on the eastern side, is two thousand feet; and 
then at least one thousand five hundred feet of the upper part of the 
Carboniferous, making in all a distance of at least four thousand feet, 
before there would be any chance of reaching flowing water, and a 
much greater depth might be necessary. 

From the facts as I now understand them, I think there is no proba- 
bility of obtaining artesian water at any reasonable depth on the 
Staked Plains. The cost would be too great to be profitable, and if 
reached, it is probable that water in the Carboniferous strata would be 
charged with sulphur, as is that at Toyah and at the head of Delaware 
creek. 

The artesian water obtained at Pecos City does not pass under the 
Staked Plains, and is probably confined to a comparatively restricted 
area. 


+ ey 
s fs 


ae 
& 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 181 


DESCRIPTION OF COUNTIES. 


The following brief description of the several counties on the Staked 
Plains is intended to direct more particular attention to their water 
supply than to their other natural resources. 

There is great similarity in the topography and soils of certain areas. 
A range of counties along the western border are quite sandy. ‘The 
northern counties are very level, have a dark soil, and are covered with 
mesquite grass but no timber of any kind, while the southern counties 
are partly sandy with mesquite brush, and partly dark soil covered 
with mesquite grass. / 

ANDREwWS.—This county is situated at the southeast corner of New 
Mexico. It isstill unorganized and is occupied only by ranches for stock 
raising. ‘There are about seventy wells in the county, ranging in depth 
trom fifty to one hundred feet. The water rises in all much above the 
point at which it was reached. They are generally bored through 
about the same beds as follows: 


TI tet MRT eee sh gle CNV ON 13. my wh ess ak dy. oh ceth vores 15 feet. 
SNE ELT SLIIC ce re Ly N le g  a, Sw on fe le el dale 20 feet 
OG UCV CLAY) ORPIRe ee rst fy ee eh a ee ae a 10 feet. 
TERRE ESS 8 CER OO esata 30 feet. 
IC Res ern mere ee ee a PF ee 8 feet. 


The water is in unlimited quantities as far as tested and of excellent 
quality. ‘The soil is rather sandy, and in many places quite so. 

Shafter’s lake, sometimes called Ranger lake, is in the northwest 
corner of this county near the New Mexico line. Five Wells are in 
the northwestern part of the county, situated in a ravine, all within a 
short distance, from six to eight feet deep and have four or five feet of 
water. There is a salt lake about ten miles south of these wells. 

ARMSTRONG.—This county is on the line of the Fort Worth and 
Denver City Railroad, at the eastern escarpment of the Staked Plains, 
about three hundred miles from Fort Worth. Palo Duro and Mulberry 
canyons run through it. With the exception of these canyons and a 
few others of less note the country is very level. The soil is red and 
black sandy loam. ‘The county is being rapidly settled with farmers, 
and their success has been most satisfactory. Plenty of water is found 
in wells ranging from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty feet in depth. 


There are broad shallow lakes or ponds at many places that have water 


in them for a few months in the year. There is very little timber in 
the county except cedar and shinoak in the canyons, 

BorDEN.—This is the first county north of Big Springs. About half 
or less of its area is on the high Cretaceous plateau of the eastern bor- 
der of the Staked Plains. Gail, the county seat, is situated at the foot 
of the plateau, half a mile south of a small creek. The following sec- 


“tion was made half a mile west of the town, beginning at the top: 


, 


182 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


imecapians Hmestone ../. 52's  yeleeeiewme belgie, etiel ea? a8 ee 10 feet. 
Heeesomiimestone 6°. . ><. ep. See te os egies ake Okt i 20 feet 
3.0) Massive limestone 2.0 0-6 5's) a ee en ed, etree 15 feet. 
4, Massive limestone, good building material ...° °° ..... “SPO Seer. 
b,)-Bloish clay . 2.20. 2 J bri ig Ee eee ee ee 20 feet. 
6.0. Grypheea beds, sandy . ) s+.) -- "OR a ahs > Oe 4 feet. 
v. ‘Pack sand, gravelly at bottom» .(- [2720 )) Ai 4.0 eee 40 feet. 
8. Micaceous sandy clay andred clay tobottom ............ 81 feet. 


By barometric measurement the top of the Caprina limestone has an 
altitude of 2600 feet. 

The wells in the eastern part of the county are generally dug in the 
drift from the plains, varying in depth from ten to twenty feet, and or- 
dinarily furnish sufficient water for domestic purposes. Below the con- 
glomerate, the beds of the Permian appear, and they are very thick, 
and any water obtained from them would probably be salty. I heard of 
no deep wells on the high plateau. Water could be obtained there at.a 
depth of about one hundred and fifty feet, as there is always water in 
the Trinity sands, which here are about that distance from the top of 
the Plains, as shown by the foregoing section. There are several 
springs in the western part of the county which have their source in 
the Trinity sands and the Triassic sandstone and conglomerate. There 
are other springs whose water comes from the drift. None of them are 
large, but generally furnish a constant flow of pure water. The tim- 
ber here is confined to the creeks and mesquite flats, but furnish suffi- 
cient fuel for domestic purposes. ‘The cedar on the bluffs of the hills 
and canyons is sufficient for fence posts. The county is being rapidly 
settled by farmers. | . 

BAILEY.—This county is situated on the western border of the State, 
next to New Mexico, on the high plateau of the Staked Plains, and is 
entirely covered by stock ranches. It is unorganized. Water is ob- 
tained in abundant quantities at a depth of two hundred feet, there 
being such uniformity in the surface of the country that there are no 
inequalities of the strata above the water bearing beds. ‘The following 
named lakes are found in different parts of the county: Negra, Hunt’s, 
Salt, Vietas, and several others of less note. 

BRISCOE.—This county is on the eastern escarpment of the Staked 
Plains, with only a part on the high plateau. Palo Duro canyon runs 
through it from northwest to southeast. In the canyon there is always 
running water, and water can be obtained in wells on the high plateau 
at about two hundred and fifty feet; in the canyon it can be reached at 
a much less depth, very often at a few feet. There are quite a number 
of settlers in this county, but it is very largely given up to stockraising. 
There is plenty of cedar timber along the canyons for all necessary pur- 
poses. The soils are of two kinds—the red sandy loam of the lower 
levels, and the black sandy land of the Staked Plains, each of about 
the same fertility. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 183 


CocHRAN.—This county is situated on the west line of the State, 
adjoining New Mexico. It is unorganized, and devoted entirely to 
stockraising. There are only a few wells in the county, but all of them 
furnish an abundant supply of water. Jake Quemas, sometimes called 
Quemada, is situated near the western border. It is a circular lake, 
about three-fourths of a mile in diameter. There are several large 
springs in the banks, which supply it with water. 

CrosBy.—This county is on the head waters of the Salt Fork of the 
Brazos river, entirely on the ‘high plateau of the Staked Plains. It is 
mostly devoted to stockraising, though quite a number of farms have 
been opened during.the past few years with satisfactory results. There 


-are about two hundred wells in the county, ranging in depth from 


seventy-five to three hundred feet, the deepest in the southern part. 
I visited quite a number of wells in the pasture of the Kentucky Cattle- 
raising Company, whose ranch is in the southern part of the county, 
situated on both sides of Blanco canyon. ‘These wells are generally 
about three hundred feet deep, the water rising in them sixty feet. 


Windmills are used to pump the water, which is found to be inex- 


haustible by this method, and no other has been tried. Blanco canyon 
runs entirely across the county, and at Mount Blanco is two hundred 
and fifty feet deep and about one mile and a half wide. ‘The bluffs on 
either side are quite precipitous. White river, a clear, beautiful stream 
of pure water, runs through this canyon. The waters come from nu- 
merous springs that issue from the base of the Plains formation. At 
the falls of White river, at low water, by measurement, thirteen mil- 
lion gallons of water pass over per day. Below the falls, within ten 
miles, are many springs, some quite large, and there is probably as 
much water from them coming into the canyon below as above the falls. 
The canyon has cut down only to the base of the Tertiary above and 
at the falls, which are twenty-four feet, while below them the sand- 
stones, conglomerates and red clays of the Triassic areexposed. Above 
the falls the springs come from the sands at the base of the Tertiary, 
while below many of them issue from the conglomerate of the Triassic. 
Nearly all of the springs are on the west side, the canyon running 
nearly north and south, the dip of the strata being toward the south- 


east. Spring Creek canyon, five or six miles long, is on the south side 


of the county. In this.are a number of fine springs coming from the 
base of the Tertiary. ‘These waters flow into the Salt Fork of the 
Brazos. Yellow House canyon, in which there is always more or less 
water, crosses the southwestern corner of the county. 

Castro.—This county is organized, though principally occupied by 
large cattle ranches, with about two hundred settlers. Dimmitt, the 
county seat, is in the center of the county. There are about thirty 
wells, ranging in depth from twenty-five to one hundred and fifty feet. 
The water is obtained in sand and limestone, is practically inexhaust- 


184. LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


ible, free from salts of any kind, and is very cold. ‘There has been no 
attempt to find water by deep boring. The soil is mostly black sandy 
loam, but with so much clay in many places that it will roll up ona 
wagon wheel like the black waxy of central Texas. There is enough 
sand, however, in all the lands to make a plow scour when plowing. 
The entire county is very level. ‘There are no canyons or breaks of 
any kind, except a few draws and depressions at various places called 
“wet weather lakes,’’ in which a peculiar kind of grass grows that 
when cut at the proper time makes an excellent hay. ‘There is no 
timber of any kind in the county, not even mesquite roots. All the 
fuel has to be hauled from Amarillo. 


Dawson.—This county is unorganized, and is occupied by cattle 
ranches. There are about fifty wells, ranging in depth from seventy 
to one hundred and fifty feet, in some of which the water is salty. 
This county is near the old northwestern shore-line made by the Creta- 
ceous formation, near which it has been observed water was not so 
easily obtained as away from it on either side. 


DEAF SmMITH.— This county is unorganized, occupied by cattle 
ranches, and situated along the western border of the State next to 
New Mexico. Water is found in wells at a depth of: thirty to one 
hundred feet. There are springs in the canyons, generally on the 
north and northwest side. ‘Terra Blanco canyon, a tributary of Palo 
Duro, runs through the county, having its head in New Mexico. The 
water in this canyon stands in holes a mile or two in length and often 
twenty feet deep. In these ponds are some very fine fish. 


FLoyp.—Floyd county is in the midst of the Plains. ‘The land is 
level and of excellent quality. At the time of my visit there were 
about one hundred and fifty wells, in depth from thirty to fifty feet, - 
with water inexhaustible by pumps run by windmills. Some of the 
ranches have small farms irrigated by water from these wells, pumped 
into reservoirs and then turned on the land when needed. Blanco 
canyon passes through this county. In it water is found a few feet 
from the surface. ‘There are hundreds of small lakes that usually 
have water in them during the summer months. There are quite a ~ 
number. of farmers, who have found it possible to raise good crops 
without irrigation. ‘The soils are generally black sandy, covered with 
curly mesquite grass. 


GarinEs.— This is the second county on the western line of the State 
north of the southeast corner of New Mexico. It is unorganized and 
entirely occupied by cattle ranches. In the northeastern part is lake 
Sabinas, nearly six miles long and four miles wide, the water of which 
is salty; but at the north end plenty of good fresh water can be ob- 
tained, while that in the shallow wells at the south end is salty. Water 
can be had at.a few feet from the surface by digging anywhere near the 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 185 


margin of the lake. Nearly due east of this, at a distance of thirty- 
five miles as measured by the odometer, is the head of Tobacco creek, 
a tributary of the Colorado river, and nearly southeast, at a distance 
of thirty-two miles, is Lake Cuates or Tahoka, often called Cedar 
lake. Five miles west of Five Wells is the first of a number of wells 
called Ward’s Wells. ‘They are in a ravine or narrow valley running 
northwest and southeast, and range in depth from four to fifteen feet. 
In two ravines running into the main canyon are quite a number of 
other shallow wells known as MclLean’s Wells and Seminole Wells. 
There are other salt lakes in the county. 

GArzA.—This county is at the eastern escarpment of the Staked 
Plains. The Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos river runs through 


_ it from west to east, and Yellow House canyon through the northern 


part, reaching the Double Mountain Fork east of the eastern line. The 
eastern part is quite broken, and mostly given up to stockraising. We 
found several springs of. good water issuing from the Triassic sandstone 
at the base of the Plains. There is a little timber on the creeks and 
canyons and mesquite in the valleys. 

HowaArp.—This county is only partly situated on the Plains, being 
at the extreme southeast corner. Big Springs is the county seat. 
There are a large number of wells ranging in depth from fifteen to one 
hundred and twenty-five feet, most of them having good water, but in 
some the water is so highly impregnated with common salt as to be 
useless. At the town of Big Springs two deep wells have been bored, 
one 700 and the other 300 feet deep. In both the water is so salty as 
to be unfit for use. In the deepest the water rose to within four feet of 
the top. The strata passed through in boring this well was principally 
the red clay of the Permian, and when that clay is reached in boring 


wells there is very little prospect of getting other than salt water. The 


thickness of the Permian beds at this place is over two thousand feet, 
and not much likelihood of getting flowing water at any depth. In 
the western part of the county are a number of salt lakes that have a 
crust of pure salt over the entire surface during the dry months, when 
the water is mostly evaporated. At the time of our visit the crust of 
salt was about two inches thick and as white as snow, being almost 
entirely free from dust or sand. ‘This salt could be collected at such 


times in large quantities and easily prepared for market. The follow- 


ing is a complete analysis of a sample of salt taken from one of the lakes: 


RSIS is 9 NAR Re oa SE Oe ar ie Aha, cea een... 4:09 
ECL er ene ee hall ee ct ee CURA SMe pate fics kee 89 
as atts) C8 TUS 0 bee 5 Us gy a ee Ae chin 50 eae a Trace 
Sy TOSI) 9 ONT SSN 9 OS Se Ce ee Son ny Sr OO 7.41 
LE TES C5" 00 2 aR a IM ees Ocak er ee | rant 0h” aha at ee a 2.24 
ore Co Le TGCS 2 au eS ee nome A te ee 49.72 
PnrREeE (EE Ca or ve ek Tk me Se ld ee Oy Tw tye 32.19 
oC ns PE RB oT ce eee, chen CR ete eee wets ed Ve a Os 2.67 


186 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


There are a number of fresh water lakes that are generally dry after 
July. ‘The soil is well adapted to agriculture and fruit raising, and 
there are a large number of farms. 

HockLEy.—This county is in the second tier east of the west line of 
the State and northeast of the southeast corner of New Mexico. It is 
unorganized and devoted to stockraising. There are about one hundred 
and fifty wells, in depth from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty feet. 
In all the water rises above the point where it is reached, sometimes as 
- much as seventy-five feet. There are three flowing wells in a canyon 
running into Yellow House canyon, the water in which is reached at a 
hundred and twenty feet. The flow is small, not more than four or five 
gallons per minute, or seven thousand two hundred gallons per day. 
The cause of the flow is local, and the water will only reach the surface 
in the canyon. Lake Caronado, a large lake of constant water fed by 
springs, is in the southeastern part of the county. 


HALE.—This county is situated in the midst of the Staked Plains. 
It is a level prairie from center to circumference, and every acre can be 
cultivated. The only water courses are slight depressions called ‘“‘draws’’ 
which traverse the county from the northwest to southeast. Running 
Water isa bold spring branch in one of these draws, which runs for 
twenty miles and then sinks into the sand. The drainage consists of a 
succession of saucer-shaped basins of various sizes without any outlet, in 
which every drop of rain that falls is taken up by the soil. In some of 
them are lakes which hold water part of the year, and water can always 
be had by digging from ten to twenty-five feet. In some there isalsoa 
growth of lake grass, which makes an excellent hay. The largest 
lake in the county is known as Cora lake, in which there is water all 
the year. There are about one hundred and fifty wells, the deepest not 
over one hundred and fifty feet. Some irrigation has been done with 
water from shallow wells elevated by windmills, and good crops re- 
ported. 


Lynn.—This county is in the midst of the Staked Plains. Wells 
range in depth from fifty to two hundred and eighty feet. The deepest 
are along the southern border. Water rises in all, and in some as much 
as forty feet. Tahoka lake is near the center, about seventy miles a 
little west of north from Big Springs, thirty-two miles nearly due north of 
the head of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos, and thirty miles 
west of the head of the Colorado river, as measured by the odometer. 
The two bodies of water composing this lake are in a depression of the 
Plains, both salty, without any visible outlet, and about three miles long 
and one-half mile wide, with several fresh water springs near. ‘They are 
also known by the name of Cuates, and are so marked-on some of the 
maps. Double Lakes are about eight miles from Tahoka, and about the 
same size. Oneof them has salt and the other fresh water, and both have 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 187 


fresh water springs along their margins. They are sometimes known 
as Blanco Lakes. There are several other smaller lakes in the county. 

LAams.—This county is in the second tier east of the west line of the 
State adjoining New Mexico, and is unorganized. There are about 
twenty-five wells in the county. The Syndicate Cattle Company are 


_ making arrangements to bore an artesian well on their property, and 


will go to the depth of four thousand feet if necessary to get flowing 
water. Casa Amarilla lake is situated in the southwest corner,:forty- 
two miles almost due west from the head of Double Mountain Fork of 
the Brazos river, as measured by the odometer, and about three miles 
long and one-half mile wide. The water is highly impregnated with 
salt and alkali. It drains the country from all directions and is fed by 
springs. Fresh water may be had by sinking pits near the margin. 
Lebos lake is about eight miles north of Casa Amarilla, and has per- 
manent water. 

Luspock.—This county is organized, and has about fifty wells, 
ranging in depth from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet. Yel- 
low House canyon, in which the wells are very shallow and furnish an 
abundance of water, traverses the southeastern portion of this county. 
A number of springs supply this canyon and the smaller gulches that 
come into it from both sides. There is one artesian well in the vicinity 
of White Lake which has a small flowing stream, and another is re- 
ported in a draw of Yellow House canyon. 

OLDHAM.—This county is on the western border of the Staked 
Plains, less than one-half on the high plateau. There are numerous 
springs along the northern escarpment, the water of which comes from 
the base of the Tertiary, which here rests directly upon the red clays 
of the Triassic. Wells on the high plateau are from two hundred to 
two hundred and fifty feet in depth. ‘There is a well flowing fifteen 
gallons per minute in a canyon three hundred feet below the top of the 


Plains. ‘The water was reached at a depth of two hundred and thirty 
feet. 


PARMER.—This county is situated on the west line of the State ad- 
joining New Mexico. It is unorganized and entirely devoted to stock- 
raising. 

PoTrerR.—This county is situated along the northern border of the 
Staked Plains, a part only on the high plateau. There are a great 
number of wells, ranging in depth from two hundred to two hundred 
and twenty-five feet. A number of springs break out in the canyons, 
two hundred feet below the top of the Plains, the water coming from 
the bottom of the Tertiary formation. Water is found also in the 
Triassic sandstone. ‘There are a great many farms in this county, and 
it is settling up rapidly. 

RANDALL.—This county lies directly south of Potter county, and is 
unorganized. There are quite a number of wells, ranging from two 


188 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


hundred to two hundred and twenty-five feet. Palo Durocanyon runs 
through from east to west. In it are a great number of springs, and a 
stream of water runs all the year. 

SWISHER.—This county is entirely on the high plateau. The wells 


are generally about one hundred and eighty to two hundred feet deep, . 


the water rising half way to the top. ‘Those in the side canyons of the 
Palo Duro are not more than eighteen or twenty feet deep. , 

TERRY.—This county is situated in the midst of the Staked Plains, 
in the second tier from the east line of New Mexico. ‘There are about 
twenty-five wells, ranging in depth from one hundred to one hundred 
and fifty feet, all having an abundant supply of water, which rises 
several feet above the point where it is reached. It is raised’ by wind- 
mills, and is used for watering stock, the whole country being devoted 
to stockraising. There are several lakes, the principal ones known as 
Rich, Omboga and Cunningham’s. 

Yoakum.—This county is on the western border of the State adjoin- 
ing New Mexico, is unorganized, and devoted to stockraising. There 
are only a few wells, ranging in depth from eighty to one hundred and 
twenty feet. 

MIDLAND is the second county west of Big Springs on the line 
of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. There are several hundred 
wells, at least one hundred said to be in the town of Midland 
alone, where they are from forty to seventy feet deep. In the 
country they range in depth from twenty to one hundred and fifty feet. 
In some of the canyons, or draws as they are called here, water can be 
had at only a few feet from the surface. One flowing well is reported, 
which ought not, however, to be so classed, as it is only about fifteen 
feet deep. It is said to flow five hundred gallons per minute, but I 
think that this estimate is too high. ‘The railroad well in the town of 
Midland furnishes sixty thousand gallons of water per day. Mustang 


springs are mentioned on some of the old maps as La Laguna. They 


comprise several large pools or lakes, which are highly saline. Alto- 
gether they are about three miles long. 

Ector.—This county is on the line of the Texas and Pacific Rail- 
road west of Midland. ‘There are about fifty wells, averaging in depth 
from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet. It is said that in boring to 
that depth several beds of water are penetrated. ‘The water rises in 
the wells above the point where it is reached. At the town of Odessa 
a hole was put down eight hundred and thirty feet in an attempt to 
reach artesian water. Nearly seven hundred feet was through the red 
clay of the Permian. ‘The work was abandoned on account of some 
difficulty with the casing, and no other attempt has been made. 

MARTIN.—This county is the first on the Texas and Pacific Railroad 
west of Big Springs, and it has been settled longer than any county on 
the Staked Plains. There are a large number of wells, from twenty 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 189 


to one hundred and fifty feet in depth, the deepest being in the eastern 
part. Water in great abundance can be had in Mustang draw ata 
depth of from five to fifteen feet. Mustang springs are four miles 
south of the line of railroad. At Marienfeld the railroad has a well 
affording twenty-four thousand gallons per day. Sulphur springs are 
about thirty-five miles northwest of Big Springs. There are several, 
nearly all of which contain pure fresh water. One of them is slightly 
tinged with sulphur, and when they all flow together, and form a large 
pool below, the water becomes more or less impregnated with it. The 
water comes from beneath a conglomerate ledge, composed of material 
from the Cretaceous limestone. The mass is bound together by car- 
bonate of lime and silica precipitated from the water. ‘The owners 
have built a dam across the ravine a few hundred yards below, -making 
a large deep reservoir for the storage of the water, and at the time of 
our visit thousands of cattle watered there daily. Soda lakes are sit- 
uated about four miles north of Sulphur springs. At the time of my 
visit they were nearly dry, and the water remaining was incrusted over 
with a layer of salt and soda an inch thick. They are in depressions 
in the surface without any outlet, and are supplied by the drainage of 
the immediate vicinity. The following analysis was made of the crust 
formed by the evaporation of the waters of one of these lakes: 


een ee Re ee tk ee ahs aS ce gc aoe me aes .96 
er eee ard Lire ee ee a ae : 30 
he OEE aI A es Bc A ee Sm 1.46 
a RIP DET EOS ME BE ae Oe ae a en ee de Trace 
TESS GIES RC eg I ES SO Poa a 51.30 
Re RP Tee ME TIN cee ely bY hse ges ys eT, apes g | Rbie Met Ve 9 
TSE OR pit iota: a a a a aaa cee ee a 4,92 
SERMCETEMECETOE DOTHGUN Br Key ce ck Lime eh Ride kale los cae 41.07 


100.60 


190 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


AGRICULTURE. 


Since the first farms were opened on the Staked Plains the area put 
in cultivation each year has increased very rapidly, until now some of 
the counties are largely taken up. I was informed while on the north- 
ern part of the Plains that in some of the counties there was not a single 
agricultural section of school land that had not been taken up. If this 
is true, the amount of land already taken up for agricultural purposes 
will be found very large. There are, however, fine districts of land 
remote from the railroads still unoccupied. | 

In discussing the agricultural possibilities of any country three things 
are to be especially considered: First, soil; second, climate; third, 
rainfall. 


SOILS. 


The soils of the Staked Plains have been derived principally from the 
underlying materials of late Tertiary age, and they in turn were derived 
from the Cretaceous and Triassic. In late Tertiary times where the 
Staked Plains now are was an inland sea, bounded on the east and south 
by the Cretaceous formation and on the west by the range of mountains 
west of the Pecos river. During the early part of this Tertiary time 
there was great erosion of the Cretaceous and Triassic, and a great re- 
depositing of the material derived therefrom. ‘This material of sand 
and clay was worked and redeposited in this inland Tertiary sea, until 
finally when it was drained of its waters there was left a series of beds: 
of this Tertiary material varying from ten to twelve feet on the south to 
three hundred feet on the north, composed of sandy clays in alternate 
beds of stratification, but none of them so compact as to be impervious 
to water. 

Whenever these strata are exposed to atmospheric influence it is easily 
disintegrated, and forms a fixed soil composed of the immediately under- 
lying beds, but so thoroughly had these beds been mixed before their 
deposition that when they decomposed they formed a soil that is very 
homogeneous throughout the entire area of the Plains. ‘The soil proper 
ranges in thickness from two to four feet, determined entirely by local 
causes. 

There is more sand in some places than in others, owing to the fact 
that the fine sand has been driven from its original locality to some dis- 
tant point, where from some cause it has accumulated and entered into 
the composition of the soil. 

At other places the soil has a black color, owing to the amount of 
vegetable matter that has been incorporated in it from the vegetation 
that has grown at that particular point. 

The subsoil is of the same material as that which has gone to make 
up the present soil, and if at any time any ingredient should become 


AGRICULTURE. 191 


exhausted from the continual production of one kind of crop, the soil 
can again be brought to its present state of fertility by the use of the 
subsoil plow. 

The soil is sufficiently porous to take up all the water that falls upon 
it, and the strata below permit it to pass to base of the Tertiary forma- 
tion, where it forms a permanent stratum of water. ‘The roots of plants 
will always beable to reach this supply, because the force of capillary 
attraction will always bring the water sufficient for plant life to within 
a short distance of the surface. This soil never becomes as dry and 
hard as that of some other parts of the State; for almost any day in the 
year moist soil can be found within an inch or two of the surface. 

No extensive collection or analyses of the soils have been made by 
this department from any part of the area, and the character of them 
can only be judged by the general appearance, its origin and the growth 
found upon the land either in its natural condition or since it has been 
brought under cultivation. 

There are about four different kinds of soils, judging from general 
appearance, on the Plains, and all are found in every county in greater 
or less amount. ‘The prevailing variety is a rich chocolate loam, very 
often overgrown with mesquite grass in the southern part; a black 
sandy, sometimes waxy soil; a red loam, which resembles the soils of 
the Colorado and Brazos river lands, and a loose red sandy soil. 

The rich dark chocolate soil has a more general origin, is generally 
deeper than any of the others, and is made up from all the others. 

The black sandy soil has its origin from the immediately underlying 
limestone bed of the Tertiary, which is now everywhere found at the 
top of the Plains where the overlying soils have been eroded, and from 
the vegetable material that has grown on the land and afterwards be- 
come incorporated with the decomposed limestone. 

The red loams have their origin largely from the drift material from 
the Quaternary, with part of that from the Tertiary. The color evi- 
dently comes from the clays brought from the Permian and ‘Triassic 
and the lower beds of the Tertiary. 

The loose sandy variety is made largely from the Quaternary and 
drift by the wind. 


NATURAL GROWTH. 


It was formerly supposed that the Staked Plains was a wide expanse 
of desert sand, and was represented and marked on the old maps as the 
great American Desert. This has been proven utterly untrue, for there 
are no spots on this wide expanse upon which there was not formerly 
a luxuriant growth of native grasses. The only place where anything 
like a desert can be found is in the white sand hills near the southeast 
corner of New Mexico, which are only about sixty miles long and 
_ fifteen miles wide. 


102 : LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


There are three principal native grasses on the Plains: mesquite, 
gramma and bunch grass. ‘The mesquite is most abundant and grows 
in great luxuriance. It does not lose its nutrition by drying at matu- 
rity; stock will winter on it and keep in good condition. The gramma 
and bunch grasses are mostly confined to the southern area, and are 
good for pasturage both in summer and winter. 

There is no timber except mesquite, and it is generally very low 
brush, the annual prairie fires having always kept it burnt down. 

The best test of the fertility of soil is the practical results realized by 
the farmer when other conditions are favorable. The following is the 
average growth the first year of various fruit trees planted at Odessa — 
between the fifteenth of February and the fifteenth of April, and the 
measurements taken on the ninth of November: 

Apples.—Thirty-four varieties planted; average growth, two feet and 
three inches; some of the limbs grew as much as three feet. 

Plums.—Ten varieties planted; average growth, two feet and ten 
inches; best growth of limb, four feet and.two inches. 

Peaches.—Twenty-one varieties planted; average growth, two feet 
and six inches. 

Nectarines,—Two varieties planted; average growth, two feet and six 
inches. 

Sot Shelled Almond.—Seven varieties planted; average growth, four 
feet and one inch; greatest limb growth, five feet and nine inches. 

Cherries.—Thirteen varieties planted; average growth, one foot and 
six inches. 

Prunes. —Six varieties planted; average growth, two feet and nine 
inches. 

Locust, bois d’are, umbrella china and Lombardy poplar each made 
a growth of from four to six feet; the poplar, ten feet and three 
inches, and increased in size from one-half inch to three inches in diam- 
eter. 

At other places the report of trees planted, without irrigation, equaled 
the abuve figures. ‘These facts would indicate a good soil, at least for 
fruit raising. 

The following figures are given as the average yield of a farm in 
Martin county: 


Red Mediterranean wheat. ....... ee) Cire Pen ae A 15 bushels per acre. 
Tinos Chief wheat; 04. }in\y or ane 16 bushels per acre. 
Iingis Swamp wheat .*.) 5.4 70 Ae eee 20 bushels per acre. 
Nicaragua swheat.. 400. c/o ee ya og wee, 16 bushelsiper deem 
Georgia Red wheat o..." "2 fx eet Gea 22 bushels per acre. 
O71: ul Wi at Ce ce Aer ae eR SP ie ey es 50 bushels per acre. 
RVC Ee APO ew sl oy a gets Te 12 bushels per acre. 
Barleye ke wheels ws Ss? BS ee 30 bushels per acre. 


Sorgh-ByTap 0) base G ly Pe 160 gallons per acre. 


AGRICULTURE. 1938 


Summed TEST fel go yyy... re OL ee et cae bade 10 to 15 tons per acre. 

sk EES Shea ae erm BOR Ge Pg 1) ae one 11 tons per acre. 
IS Ne ee Seep! in Oe ee ee 50 bushels per acre, 

Re race ipa Cy i, eae Ree 15 bushels per acre. 


This farm is without irrigation and furnishes a fair sample of what 
can be raised on the land of the Staked Plains by proper cultivation. 

Another important quality of good agricultural soil is its capacity to 
receive and retain moisture. By reference to the statement showing 
the origin of these soils it will be seen that they are more or less sandy, 
and the country being level, with little drainage, all the water that falls 
in rains is taken up by the soils and stored in strata below, and may be 
drawn upon by the plant when needed. ‘The soil is sufficiently porous 
to permit the roots of the growing plants to readily penetrate it in order 
’ to obtain moisture and other material necessary. All the facts being 
considered the soils of the Staked Plains are shown to be well adapted 
to agriculture. 


CLIMATE. 


The next thing to be considered is the climate, which includes tem- 
perature, length of time between late and early frosts, elevation above 
sea level, and the humidity of the atmosphere. 

The following table gives the average temperature at different places 
on the Staked Plains: 


TABLE SHOWING ANNUAL MEAN TEMPERATURE ON THE STAKED PLAINS IN 


TEXAS. i 
. ‘ ay pes Ay 
rs (B) | 

oy CO as Cae SE re ee iene ie 

Stations. | 4 | & 5 s x | o 2 5 8 5 

> I q ¢ aI ~ v DS, 2 ro} v v I 

PS RSS BSA Se RW Ui = We yar ey Wa i eg 

Cope ee ae et HS IE Eh Steyr li aa bk OF pea: RMP cd 
Ft. Elliott .|2500/ 30.6] 36.0) 46.0) 55.6, 63.8, 73.0) 77.0] 74.7| 68.2| 56.8, 42.5| 34.4] 54.8 
Mt. Blanco.|3800, 43.7, 46.3] 64.3] 61.0, 72.6 76.8, 78.9| 81.0] 73.0, 61.2 50.6 40.6} 61.7 
Midland . . 2775 46.9] 52.1). 64.3; 77.5| 80.0| $4.2} 81.1). 73.3| 61.5} 48.6| 41.7] 62.3 


The late frosts on the southern part of the Staked Plains are not 
later than the fifteenth of March, and on the northern part not later 
than the first of April. It is very seldom that killing frosts come as 
late as the dates mentioned. ‘The early frosts come on the southern 
part of the Plains from the middle to the last of October, and on the 
northern area a little later. Thus it will be seen that there is at least 
six months in which to plant and mature crops, a longer time than is 
required to grow any cereals. Corn planted in February or March will 
ripen and be ready for gathering by September, and cotton planted in 
April or May will begin to open the last of September. Wheat is 
planted in the fall and harvested the following June or July. 
The elevation of the Staked Plains above sea level is frem two thou- 
sand six hundred feet on the extreme southeastern corner to four thou- 
sand one hundred feet on the northwest. 


194 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


After the first of June there are no dews, but the atmosphere is dry, 
both day and night, until the rains come in August and September, 
and hence crops should be planted so as to mature as early as possible. 


RAINFALL. 


A certain amount of moisture is absolutely necessary to plant growth, 
and if that does not reach the soils by rain, then the lacking quantity 
must be supplied by artificial means. It has been generally estimated 
that twenty inches of rainfall per annum was the smallest amount that 
could be depended upon to produce crops of any kind. When below 
that, it has been thought that irrigation was absolutely necessary. 

‘here are so many other considerations to be taken into account, aside 


from the actual annual rainfall, that it forms no real basis for such cal- | 


- culations. ‘The question of evaporation and the time of the rainfall 
would be two very important factors. There is no greater error than to 
suppose that because a certain locality has more than twenty inches of 
rainfall there would be no need of irrigation at that place, or because 
there were less than twenty inches annual rainfall there would be an abso- 
lute necessity for it. This may be very easily illustrated. The annual rain- 
fall at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, is 36.71 inches, and that of Julian, San 
Diego county, California, is 37.68. According to the generally received 
theory, there would be no need of irrigation at either of these places. 
Yet, while no other moisture is needed at Pittsburg, it is absolutely 
essential in California. The reason of this is found in the distribution 
of the rainfall. At Pittsburg it is nearly equal each month throughout 
the year, while in California only about nine per cent of the whole 
amount of the precipitation falls from the first of May to the last of 
November, and nearly one-half of the whole falls during January and 
February. 

If the greatest portion of the annual rainfall is during the time of the 


growing crops, agriculture will be a success with much less than when — 


the greater part of it comes during the winter months. This is the case 
on the Staked Plains. The average annual rainfall may be put at twenty 
inches, and the report of the Chief of the Signal Bureau shows that the 


dry months are in the winter, and the wet and very wet months are in the 


summer, when the crops are growing, just the time when the moisture 
is needed. 


No definite information has been obtained relative to evaporation, and . 


as the humidity of the atmosphere depends upon the proximity of the 
ocean, the direction of the prevailing winds, and the character of the 
intervening country over which the winds must pass, as well as the 
temperature, it would be, without definite information, impossible to 
determine anything about the effect of evaporation upon the moisture 
of the Staked Plains. | 

Another reason why average crops can be raised with a less amount 


AGRICULTURE. 195 


of rainfall than at many other places is the fact that at the base of the 
Tertiary formation, and often in intervening strata, there is a bed of 
water which, by capillary aitraction, is drawn toward the surface, and 
brought within reach of the roots of the growing plants. All the 
water that falls on the Plains is immediately taken up by the soil and 
stored in the underlying beds, and therefore these beds are kept satu- 
rated by much less rainfall than where the soil is hard and the drain- 
age carries off the greater part of the water as it falls. 

There is no doubt that the average crop of the Staked Plains would 
be very materially increased by the aid of irrigation. There are ordi- 
narily three sources for this purpose: natural streams, wells or storage 
reservoirs. 

The streams in the canyons crossing the Plains are so far below the 
level it would be impossible to get the water from them to the upper 
plateau. ‘The canyons are generally very narrow, yet there are places 
in them where several hundred acres could be irrigated. One such is 
in the vicinity of Mount Blanco, in Crosby county, and it is probable 
that the water in White river would have been so used but that the 
owners of the cattle ranches oppose it, fearing that the use of the water 
for irrigation will so exhaust it that enough will not be left for the 
large number of cattle. Thirteen million gallons of water flow over 
the falls of White river per day, most of which sinks into the sand a 
few miles below. It would be impossible to take the water out of the 
river to the top of the Plains, as the plateau is two hundred and sixty 
feet above the falls. 

The springs are all near the bottom of the canyons, and the same 
facts apply to them as apply to the streams. 

The reasons for supposing it impossible to get artesian water any- 
where on the Staked Plains are given elsewhere and need not be re- 
peated here. 

The possibility of obtaining an almost unlimited supply of water from 
shallow wells has already been stated. ‘That this water could be util- 
ized for growing the ordinary crops is certain, but whether it would 
pay to do so depends upon the cheapness with which the water can be 


put on the land. 


~ While crops can be raised without irrigation, the great increase in 
the annual product, and the certainty of making a crop, would warrant 
considerable outlay in digging wells, making storage tanks and erect- 
ing windmills with which to supply the water. It has been estimated 
that twelve inches of water, in addition to the annual rainfall, would 
be ample to mature any kind of crop, even in the dryest year. 

The following statements are given of some of the efforts that have 
been made to irrigate from shallow wells: , 

The Marienfeld Fruit Growing, Gardening and Irrigating Company 
have two eight inch bored wells one hundred and forty-six feet deep. 


196 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


From these they irrigate twenty acres planted in fruits and vines. The 
water is elevated by two twenty-foot windmills, which will raise about 
two thousand gallons of water per hour. ‘The water is pumped into a 
reservoir and used thence directly upon the land. It is thought that 
the wells will furnish water enough for fifty acres or more planted in 
vines or trees. 

Mr. A. Rawlings, living five miles west of Marienfeld, has two bored 
wells, three inches in diameter, from which he irrigates an orchard and 
vineyard of twenty acres. ‘These wells are thirty feet deep and have 
an unlimited supply of water, which is pumped by two windmills ten 
feet in diameter, and stored in a reservoir of twenty-two thousand gal- 
lons capacity. 

In the Mustang draw, a few miles south of the Texas and Pacific 
Railroad, Mr. Glasscock has a dug well three feet square and twenty 
deep. The water is pumped by a twelve-foot windmill, raising about 
fifteen hundred gallons of water per hour, which is stored in reservoirs 
and used on twenty acres of land as needed. 

Six miles north of Midland, on the J. C. Curtis ranch, is a vineyard 
of four acres, irrigated from a dug well thirty feet deep. ‘The water is 
pumped by a twelve-foot windmill, capable of raising eight thousand 
six hundred gallons of water in six hours. The water is run into a 
wooden tank and thence to the land. 

Half a mile from Midland Mr. N. S. Worley has ten acres in a vine- 
yard which he irrigates from a well fifty-five feet deep. The water is 
raised by a twelve-foot. windmill, and is run intoa gee reservoir and 
thence to the vineyard. 

Mr. J. M. Moody, in the town of Midlawd, has an saree and vine- 
yard of five acres. He irrigates it from a well thirty-five feet deep, 
using a ten-foot windmill to elevate the water, at the rate of eight 
hundred gallons per hour. 

These facts are enough ‘to show that irrigation from shallow wells, 
with windmills for hoisting the water, can be made a success in grow- 
ing orchards and vineyards, and as the water seems to be in an un- 
limited quantity there is no reason why larger areas may not be culti- 
vated in other crops, by simply increasing the number of wells. | 

It has been estimated that it would cost about eight or ten dollars 
per. acre to put down enough wells and erect windmills sufficient to 
irrigate the land. 

Another source of water for irrigating purposes is storage reservoirs, 
where the storm water may be collected in either natural or artificial 
lakes or ponds. Scattered all over the vast area of the Staked Plains 
are a number of lakes of all sizes up to six miles in extent. Some are 
salt and some fresh, and all are generally fed by springs, but re- 
ceive the drainage from every direction. Some have permanent water, 
but many are dry part of the year, especially those that have only the 


Tae 
‘ hay) 


Ny : 
es 


AGRICULTURE. 197 


drainage water. ‘he lakes, however, are usually situated in a depres- 
sion in the plains, so much below the level of the surrounding country 
that it would be impossible to get the water out of them by canals. 

The soil is generally so porous that the cost of making artificial 
tanks would be too great, and the difficulty of getting a regular supply 
of flood water would prevent their general use if there were no other 
objections. ‘There are places on the Plains where the water is so near 
the surface that a storage reservoir could be excavated with a scraper, 
and the water carried to some of the lands bélow, but! thesd places are 
not very numerous, and can only be found along some of the draws. 

There will always be some difficulty in irrigating lands at a distance 
from the source of the water, arising from the porous nature of the 
soil and its great absorbent capacity. ‘The seepage from the canals 
will always be very great where the water is attempted to be carried 
along a ditch in the soil, as the water is free from sediment of any 
kind to fill up the open spaces in the soil to prevent seepage. 


FRUIT GROWING. 


At a great many places small orchards have been planted in different 
kinds of fruits, principally peaches, plums and apricots. They all 
have a vigorous growth after the first year, and very few trees die if 
properly planted, after they have once begun growing. Here, as else- 
where, a want of proper care in planting will result in great loss of 
trees the first year, but once get them through the first season, they 
adapt themselves to the new conditions and will live without much 
care or attention. Every farmer can plant an acre or two in fruits, and 
raise enough for his own use and to spare, and nothing pays better 
than a small orchard for home use. ‘The orchard will demarid only 
ordinary cultivation to keep the weeds down and trimming at the 
proper season, and attention enough to keep the stock from eating it 
in winter. Cows and orchards do not thrive well upon the same land. 

There is no doubt about fruit raising for market paying well on the 
Staked Plains, under irrigation. Within a short distance of the sur- 
face of the ground everywhere is an abundant and almost inexhausti- 
ble supply of water which can be elevated by windmills at small cost 
and conducted to the:land either in tiling pipes or troughs above 
ground, without much loss from seepage. One well eight feet square 
will furnish fifty thousand gallons of water per day, which would be 
sufficient to irrigate twenty acres in orchard, and probably much more. 

If it should be found that a reservoir eight feet square was not suffi- 
cient to supply a pump running ten hours per day, the capacity of the 
reservoir could be very greatly increased by driving tunnels in one or 
two directions along the water-bearing stratum, and under a compact 
conglomerate rock which ordinarily lies above it. It would be better 
to have the storage reservoir below ground than above, as thereby the 


198 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. © 


large amount of loss by evaporation would be avoided, and all the 
water elevated by the pump go directly to the land. 

The following is a description of such a well at Odessa, and an esti- 
mate of its irrigating capacity. 

The well is eight feet square, curbed twenty-one feet from the sur- 
face. From the curb to the surface of the water it is round, having a 
diameter of eight feet at the top, twelve feet at waterline, and sixteen 
feet at the bottom. The depth of water is eleven feet and six inches. 
This gives\a storage capacity of 14,500 gallons. ‘The well is forty-eight 
feet deep, and the following material was passed through in digging it: 


A. Soothe 0 i ee SRE sce cic 7 feet. 
2..) Limestone, soft... (0/406 Te Vere e ome, ive eee es 14 feet. 
3. Conglomerate, very hard 0 ys) eh eae. ears ee 16.feet. 
4,’ Sandstone and gravel sos 5 9) oe wie ete eee ean 11 feet. 

Total .9 05555 SOMOS Pe eno a cca ct 48 feet. 


The cost was five hundred and sixty-eight dollars. A twenty-foot 
windmill with a twelve-foot stroke, a five inch double acting railway 
pump, with tower complete, will be about five hundred dollars. Such 
a mill would, with the wind blowing twenty miles an hour, throw five 
thousand gallons of water per hour. It was estimated that such a well 
and mill would furnish enough water, with the annual rainfall, to irri- 
gate forty acres of land. 


VINEYARDS. 


The planting of vineyards on the high plateau has not been attempted 
on a very large scale, but enough experimenting has been done to prove 
that grapes can be raised in great perfection. More is dependent upon 
climate for raising grapes than on the nature of the soil. Good soils 
for grape culture can be found almost anywhere and in any country; 
but only a few localities, comparatively, have a climate of the charac- 
ter to produce the best results. Where the soil is deficient in any 
quality for the culture of grapes, the deficiency may be artificially sup- 
plied. 

Again, one kind of grape which will grow well in one place will not 
thrive in another and different climate. She temperature of the Staked 
Plains in winter is from fifteen to twenty degrees colder than it is in 
Southern California, and no doubt some protection will be necessary to 
prevent bad results from the cold waves that occasionally pass over 
them. This can be done by earthing up the vines as they do in the Rio © 
Grande valley. The soil is all that can be desired, being light, porous 
and very deep, as well as fertile. ‘The mission and raisin grape and 
some California varieties will thrive best, no doubt, and some of the 
wine producing varieties will be raised successfully. ‘Ihe raisin grape 
needs rapid and continuous evaporation while drying, just such an 
atmosphere in a word as is found on the Plains at the time of the ripen- 


AGRICULTURE. 199 


ing of the grapes. There are no fogs or dews during this time, and 


very little chance of rain. 


The convenience with which a vineyard can be irrigated will add very 
materially to the value of the country for grape growing, and the profit 
can be very easily estimated, based upon what has already been done. 
Vines will begin to bear the second year. The third year an acre will pro- 
duce about one thousand five hundred pounds of raisins, and will in- 
crease in product until the vines are seven years old, when an acre will 
yield, under favorable conditions, from one and a half to two tons. 
One hand can cultivate, prune and irrigate twenty acres. One ton of 
raisins is worth from one hundred and seventy-five dollars to two hun- 
dred dollars, and it costs about fifty dollars per ton to prepare them for 
market. 

The mission grape will yield about two tons of grapes per acre the 
third year and increase in quantity for several years up to five and six 
tons. ‘These grapes are worth at the vineyard from two to three cents 
per pound and always find a ready market. A vineyard of twenty acres, 
yielding two tons of grapes per acre the third year, would give an in- 
come, at two cents per pound, of eighty dollars per acre, or one thou- 
sand six hundred dollars for the twenty acres. In six years, witha 
yield of five tons per acre, would give two hundred dollars per acre, or 
four thousand for the twenty acres. The same estimate will hold for 
wine grapes which have been tested in the vicinity of Marienfeld. 

Well planted vineyards are worth from three hundred to four hun- 
dred dollars per acre after three years. 


PRUNHS. 


The cultivation of prunes has been a success in a small way. I 
could hear of no large orchards, but those planted showed a vigorous 
growth and were well fruited. The climate is particularly adapted to 


the raising of this fruit. The dry atmosphere is of great advantage 


at the time of drying. ‘The trees are planted eighteen feet apart, which 
gives one hundred and thirty-four to the acre, and if each tree pro- 
duces two dollars werth per year would give the sum of two hundred 
and sixty-eight dollars per acre. ‘They begin to fruit after three years. 
The prunes are generally free from blemishes, and are not subject to 
injury from insects. 


_ FUEL. 


There are no trees of any kind on the Staked Plains, and fuel will 
have to be obtained elsewhere. Patches of mesquite grow here and there, 
and there is no better fuel than dry mesquite roots; they burn readily, 
make an intensely hot fire, and are easily obtained by digging. It is 
probable that if the prairie fires are kept out of the country for a few 


200 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


years longer the growth of mesquite will be very materially increased, 
and fuel supplied in that way. Such is the mildness of the climate, 
and the winters are usually so short, that no fuel is required for a large 
part of the year except for cooking purposes. 

No particular effort has been made to grow timber on the Plains ex- 
cept inasmall way. It has, however, been demonstrated that several 
varieties of wood have a rapid growth, and any one who desires can in 
a few years raise enough fuel for his own use. 


NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY 


OF THE 


COUNTRY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 


TUCUMCARI? NEW MEXICO. 


Tucumcari mountain is situated in New Mexico, about fifty miles 
west of the Texas state line, and on the south side of the Canadian 
river. The mountain is merely a remnant of a once elevated plateau, 
cut into its present condition by erosion. There are several other-peaks 
of the same character and of the same geological formation in the 
vicinity—Ljittle Tucumcari, Mount Rivuelto, Pyramid Mount and others. 

The north side of Tucumcari mountain is almost perpendicular, pre- 
senting a most excellent exposure of the strata from bottom to top. 
The height is six hundred and twenty feet on the north side, measured 
with an aneroid barometer. The summit is about two hundred feet 
higher than the plateau of the Staked Plains, which begins in a bold 
escarpment at distance of about twenty miles southward. 

The following is a detailed section of Tucumcari mountain, begining 
at the top: ; 


I PEs Tria Sie tn ae ck. eel ins ow side ge ecaeiemerl el Ye 

MUIRE CIO Y OM AINTIICHLON Gly Myre. a), ok ad wee ee pa yy le ages 20 feet. 

LS GECOMST STA GLS Tad DN: Soll ea a Pe 60 feet. 

Nr AE eRe SPAR ins sie ago edo. oe we le sl ew a. a ingen eles 50 feet. 

Bo inssive yellowish sandstone; .0.-% 20k ee 235 feet. 

MU RIRCHSIC SING te NaN Gey ee gl ae PEL as ol ped a 4d ae ge Rus ee Get . 980 feet. 

RP ie MM eater ett Si We) 4) las! fo, Siw Latest Gulab alin lade s 4 feet. 

TI LECULAR NO Sharirar |, VBI abe Ms) ie. ce ol 6) bn ele a ace UNS RA re aE Go leet. 

Be Or ClaNe we DC fame a 7c. eos SSS a 8. te ole hee peer 1 foot. 

ES ER BEES CE ate <> a Sa ne ETP ha et er WSs ome CEN 4 feet. 
lS) RIE Si 125 Wei a 9 a ia” dar eae ek an UL Ala 16 feet. 
TRG TS RCSD DINOS SA SI ne Str lee An eT 30 feet. 
RITES CCC IAM eta Net). Tete “ap te ke) ts. ioe ye Gea.” @ BEM) RE tal 145 feet. 
601 feet. 


That part of the section below and including No.6 belongs to the 
Triassic. From No. 2 to No.6, which I propose to call the Tucumcari 
beds, are Cretaceous, while No. 2 is the Tertiary, the same as the upper 
part of the Staked Plains. I make these distinctions that they may be 
discussed separately. 

In 1852 Professor Jules Marcou visited this locality and made a sec- 
tion of Pyramid mountain, which is substantially the same as that 
given above. In his section, however, he placed all above the Triassic 


202 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


in the Jurassic, and by some mistake called the bed above the blue 
clay, limestone, when in reality itis sandstone. The mistake can be very 
easily understood by those who are acquainted with the circumstances 
under which he wrote the vreswme of his work as published in “‘Geology 


of North America.’’ His notes had been taken from him, and he had ~ 


only a private diary from which to make out the report. I am sure the 
error would have been avoided if he had been permitted to retain his 
notes until the report was completed. 

W. P. Blake, in whose hands Marcou’s notes were placed, published 
the notes in French and his translation of them in parallel columns. 
(Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol. 3.) 

Meek’s transalation of the notes on’ Pyramid Mount, after having 
given the beds below, including those of clay shale, says of the bed in 
question: ‘‘Then comes a calcareous sandstone, yellow and shining, 
very hard, with strata five or six feet in thickness, which becomes yel- 
low at the summit.’’ Again, in giving a section of the Staked Plains, 
and what he calls the second steppe, he says: ‘“This-second mesa is 
entirely formed of blue clay at the base, then yellowish sandstone, and 
finally the summit is again very compact white siliceous limestone.’’ 
The only blue clay bed in the vicinity is that in which the fossil zone 
of the Gryphea dilatata, var.’ Tucumcari, occurs. So I think it can be 
seen, even from Marcou’s writings, thatit was an error to call limestone 
the calcareous sandstone above the blue clay, and with this exception 
the section of Pyramid Mount by Marcou is substantially as I found 
the strata at Tucumcari. 

The Tucumcari beds commence about four or fivé miles east of Fossil 
creek, where Marcou first mentions having seen the water-worn speci- 
mens of the G. dilatata, var. Tucumcari. At the place of its first 
occurrence section No. 18 was made as given in a previous page. 

At this place the blue shaly clay was only about twenty feet thick, 
and the sandstone overlying it was more calcareous than at any other 
place at which we saw it. ) 

Since Professor Marcou’s visit there has been a controversy between 
him and several other geologists as to the correctness of his determina- 
tion of two fossils found at this locality, and consequently of his deter- 
mination of the age of the beds. ‘The two fossils found and determined 
were a species of Gryphea and an oyster. The Gryphwa Marcou de- 
scribed as G. dilatata, var. Tucumeari, and the oyster as 0. marshii, 
Sow. ‘Those who opposed his opinion contended that the Gryphaa 
was but a species of G. pitcheri, Morton, and the other O. subovata, 
Shumard. ‘These geologists never visited the locality, but based their 
opinions upon Marcou’s observations and the specimens collected by 
him. 

No other information had been obtained from this locality until 1888, 
when Professor Robert T. Hill visited it and confirmed Marcou’s 


' 


1 


POS 2 


‘GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 208 


determinations. Professor Hill again visited the locality in April, 
1891. 


In the prosecution of my work as Geologist for Northern ‘Texas on 
the State Geological Survey, I found myself within a few miles of the 


locality, and as it was a matter of interest to science in general, and to 


Texas geology in particular, I went there and made examinations of 
the strata constituting the Tucumcari beds and their relation to the 
surrounding strata. I made a large collection of the invertebrate fos- 
sils as well as some of the fossil flora. In order that I may not misstate 
or give erroneous interpretations to the work and statements of those 


who have visited the locality before I did, and that they may express 


themselves in their own language, I will make some extracts from the 
publications of Marcou and Hill. 


Marcou says:* 


“The second point where the expedition has quitted the strata of the Trias for 
amore recent formation, is at the place where we crossed the Llano Estacado 
(latitude 35°, 17’, 18’”, longitude 102°, 53’, 24’”). The base of the Llano is formed 
wholly of the upper strata of the Kueper, which reaches half way up the height 
of the plateau. These strata, which are of red color, are suddenly replaced by 
white sandstone, containing numerous calcareous concretions, then by a compact 
white limestone, sometimes oolitic, that forms the suminit of the Llano. These 
beds are superposed in concordant stratification upon those of the Kueper. 

“‘The Llano Estacado consists of two table lands of different elevations. We 
crossed the lower one about forty miles further west, near Fossil creek and Tu- 
cumcari Mount (latitude 35°, 01’, 16’’, longitude 103°, 52’, 29’”). There is a 
second steppe, one hundred and fifty feet higher than the first, also forming a 
vast mesa, which extends to the Pecos. This second mesa is entirely formed of 
blue clay at the base, then yellowish sandstone, and finally the summit is again 
a very compact, white siliceous limestone. 

“‘Obliged to confine myself to a single excursion, I chose an isolated hill on the 
left of our road, six miles from our camp No. 49, and which we called Pyramid 
Mount (latitude 35°, 10’, 16’’, longitude 103°, 58’), its shape being that of a quad- 
rangular pyramid. 

“The north side of Pyramid Mountt is entirely precipitous, perpendicular as a 
wall, without any particle of vegetation, and showing all the strata; it is impos- 
sible to desire a clearer or better geological section. The height of the bluft 
where the beds outcrop is five hundred feet. I give below the section as I ob- 
served it in a short examination of only four hours duration: 


Brtreu reer oee oe nat ks ol. ies be Se eee Oe oe ar od De feet. 
Depiriweiiwiestonee. 4. re se FO Ra ee Per ay ke 750: feet. 
Petra ere mrneea any ts Pes Yc -73) Gk epee eee bea oo he. BO feet. 
DRED EATS TOG tase fol ete her fib yi 2 1. ond TN Ae RIE ee ek tg 25 feet. 
Peerinivenearlistoieiimntcwr ss war te Ppctil o atay eee ewe”... SQ feet, 
Wy EiIte SANUStONG 4 eka iy) a ee tee Sm STR Wie te ALE kA a . 8 feet. 
oo Ere Dent Ee 298 ee 02 ee eS Ob fc. 55 > Oe ng VO ene ae 1 foot. 


*Geology of North America, p. 17. 
tPyramid Mount is about ten miles southwest of Tucumcari mountain.—W. 
FeO. 


204 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


“At the bottom of E. is the zone of the Gryphea dilatata, var. Tucumcari, and 
the Ostrea marshii. From the base half way up, the first two hundred feet are 
composed of strata of variegated marls, red, green and white, having the same 
appearance as the upper part of the Kueper in the quarries of Boisset, near Sa- 
lins, France. A bed of grayish blue clay (A.) one foot thick, forms the last strata 
of new red sandstone, and is in contact with a white very fine grained sandstone 
(B.), which is eight feet thick and belongs to the Jurassic formation. Above there 


is an enormous mass, eighty feet in thickness, of very hard fine grained sand- © 


stone (C.) of a light yellow color, and cut by cleavage perfectly perpendicular like 
a wall. Beds of white sandstone (D.) are superposed; they are very fine, soft and 
easily disintegrated by the action of the atmosphere; at the foot of each bed little 
heaps of sand are seen which result from this decomposition; the thickness of the 
beds is twenty-five feet. Then comes clay (E.) of a slight grayish blue color and 
sub-schistose structure, thirty feet thick. . 

“Tn this blue clay, six inches distant from the white sandstone, I found a zone 
of Gryphea not more than three inches thick, but the specimens are so abundant 
that they are in contact with each other. The Gryphca that I had collected at 
the foot of the bluff and on the ascent, though rolled and worn, had struck me 
as resembling in shape the Gryphea dilatata of Oxford and the Vaches Noires in 
Normandy. When I had them in the strata itself, and had collected a hundred 
in perfect preservation, I no longer doubted their identity with the Gryphea dila- 
tata of the Oxfordian group of England and France. Soon after, in the same 
zone with the Gryphea I found two specimens of the Ostvea marshit, a very char- 
acteristic fossil of the lower oolite of England, France and Germany. This dis- 
covery of Jurassic fossils proved to me that I had at last met with the true Jurassic 
rocks in North America. 

‘‘To return to Pyramid Mount. Above the fossiliferous blue clay are beds of 
sandy limestone (F.) of a deep yellow color and very hard; when broken it shines 
and shows brilliant points, like the yellow limestone of the inferior oolite of the 
Jura. These beds are each five or six feet thick and rise to the top of the pyramid 
where the upper strata is a white siliceous and very compact limestone (G) resem- 
bling lithologically the Forest Marble (Calcaries de la Citadelle) of the environs of 
Salins and Besancon.”’ 


Prof. R. T. Hill, in discussing the various forms of the Gryphea 


pitcheri, and in allusion to the controversy about the G. dilatata, var. 
Tucumcari, says: 


‘During the month of August, 1888, for the purpose of ascertaining the exact 
truth of the disputed point, the writer visited Marcou’s typical locality of Tucum- 
cari mountains, New Mexico, and found that the Gryphea dilatata occupies a 
definite horizon, occurring by the thousands, far helow what had hitherto been 
supposed to be the base of the American Cretaceous where the small and entirely 
different typical variety of Gryphea pitcheri, Morton, usually abounds. 

“For thirty years the observations of Mr. Marcou have suffered the disapproval 
of American geologists on this point, but I am inclined to believe in the correct- 
ness of his position. * * * ‘This broad dilate Jurassic Gryph@a of Marcou 
may nevertheless be antecedent of the Gryphea pitcheri of Morton.” 


In Circular No. 1, issued by Mr. Hill as a University Series from the 
School of Geology, in referring to the work done since the publication 
of Bulletin No. 45 of the United States Geological Survey, he a 


* Arkansas Geological Report, 1888, Vol. 2, pp. 172, 178. 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 205 


“4, The affirmation of the age of Tucumcari section along the northwest corner 
of Texas to the uppermost Jurassic as originally described by Marcou.”’ 


Mr. Hill revisited Tucumcari the second time in April, 1891. After 
that visit and re-examination of the section, he says: * 
“Upon careful comparison I am also inclined to think the upper half of Tu- 


cumicari mesa, New Mexico, which I have visited, is composed, below the cap 
rock, of Trinity sands.” 


It will be seen from the quotations that they both put the Tucumcari 
beds in the Jurassic, at least Mr. Hill does after his first visit to the 
locality. After his second visit: he correlates the beds below the cap 
rock with the Trinity sands, but does not say whether he intends to 
reaffirm or correct his former reference, for he has never affirmed defi- 
nitely just where the Trinity sands belong. Sometimes he has put the 
beds in the Cretaceous, and at other times in the Jurassic, as can be 
seen by reference to his numerous publications on this subject. On 
page 125, Vol. 2, of the Arkansas Geological Report, 1888, he says: 

‘The stratigraphical position beneath the lowest Comanche series, which is of 
very early Cretaceous (Neocomian), and the’ extreme difference in the character 


of the sediments and fossils, confirm the opinion that the rocks are the uppermost 
Jurassic, lowest Cretaceous (Weldon), or transitional Jura-Cretaceous.”’ 


I will first notice the reasons given by these gentlemen for the con- 
clusion that these beds are Jurassic, before giving the reasons I have 
for placing them in the Washita division of the Cretaceous. 

Prof. Marcou bases his conclusions, first. upon the similarity of the 
lithological character of the rocks to the Jurassic rocks in England, 
France and Germany; second, upon the stratigraphic position of the 
beds; third, upon the paleontology. 

It must be apparent to even a casual observer that in strata as widely 
separated geographically as are the beds of Tucumcari, in New Mex- 
ico, and those in Europe, their lithological similarity would not be 
conclusive of their belonging to the same geological age. 

Upon the very question at issue Prof. Louis Agassiz says: f 


‘(Whoever has read Marcou’s paper on the Jura must have seen that he knows, 
as well as any geologist living, that lithological characters are of no value in iden- 
tifying geological horizons, but after presenting the general evidence, as far as it 
goes, for the presence of Triassic and Oolitic beds in the middle tract of our con- 
tinent, I cannot find that there is any reason for blame, with his familiarity with © 
the Triassic and Oolitic beds of Europe, in his pointing out the lithological re- 
semblance there may be between them.”’ 


- The similarity in lithological resemblance between strata in near or 
adjoining territory would be a very good reason for concluding that 
the two beds were of the same geological age, and these resemblances 


* Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Vol. 2, p. 506, May 5, 1891. 
+ Silliman’s Journal of Science, Second Series, Vol. XXVII, No. 79, p. 184, 


| January, 1859. 


206 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


would very readily suggest to one as familiar with the formation in 
Europe as was Marcou, that they were similar in age, and one would 
be warranted, in the absence of other facts, in so referring to them, at 
least provisionally, to the same formation. All I contend for is that 
this kind of evidence is not conclusive, and especially so in beds so 
widely separated as are those in Europe and New Mexico. 

The stratigraphic position of these beds prove nothing. ‘The posi- 
tion they occupy would go as far to prove they were Cretaceous as that 
they are Jurassic. ‘They are between the Triassic and Tertiary, and 
their stratigraphic position could be used as much in favor of one as the 
other. ‘The fact that they lie in concordant stratification with the Tri- 
assic might be used as an argument that there was continuity of sedi- 
mentation, and therefore Jurassic; but that does not necessarily follow, 
for there is often a conformity of stratification between beds of widely 
different ages. Along some parts of the eastern escarpment of the 
Staked Plains the. well Known strata of the Cretaceous lies directly 
upon the Triassic and is in conformable stratification. 

The only remaining reason then to be considered, and it seems to me 
the only one that need be referred to, is that based upon the fossils found 
in these beds. There are two species upon which Professor Marcou 
bases his conclusions, and which he has designated Gryphcea dilatata, 
var. Tucumcari, and Ostrea marshii. ‘That the Gryphea dilatata, Sow., 
and Ostrea marshii, Sow., are characteristic of the Jurassic in Europe I 
am ready toadmit. ‘Those who have heretofore opposed Marcou’s 
determination of the beds to be Jurassic have controverted the correct- 
ness of his determination of these fossils. As mentioned elsewhere they 
contended that the Grpyhwa dilatata, var. Tucumcari, Marcou, was only 
a variety of G. pitcheri, Morton, and the Ostrea marshti, Sow., was O. 
subovata, Shumard. 7 

Since making the collection at Tucumcari I have had the opportunity 
of examining specimens of G@. dilatata, Sow., from France and Germany, 
and have compared the fossils found at Tucumcari with them. There 
is no doubt that this dilate variety is very similar to that of Europe, 
and I can say I think Marcou was right in making this fossil a variety 
of the original type. It is so different in its specific characteristics 
from the G. pitcheri, Morton, that there is very little in common be- 
tween them. | 

The other fossil upon which he bases his conclusion, Ostrea marshii, 
I have not been able to determine as positively. I have been unable 
up to the present writing to get a specimen from Europe for compari- 
son. I have compared the specimens taken from Tucumcari with 
samples of Ostrea subovata, Shumard, taken from several localities in 
Texas, and they seem to be identical with Shumard’s type, and I think 
they are the same. ‘This fossil is rare in these beds, and is not so well 
preserved as the G. dilatata, var. Tucumcari. 


ae 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 207 


Mr. Hill says:* ‘“I‘here is some reason to believe that it is the same 
as QO. subovata, Shumard, which extends from the Travis Peak (Trinity 
sands) to the Shoal ‘creek limestone.’’ Just what his reasons were for : 
such a conclusion he does not say. Nor does he say whether or not 
he ever saw a specimen of the fossil from Tucumcari. 

Upon the similarity of these fossils with the European species Mar- 
cou based his opinion that the strata was the same age as that in which 
they occur in Europe, and with the evidence then before him, I think 
he was warranted in his conclusion, yet this is not conclusive of the 
fact, for the following reasons: 

1. It has not been found that fossils of a similar form and species in 
Europe and America always come from the same series. Fossils that 
are characteristic of a series in Europe are sometimes only found in a 
different one in America. It is true that many similar species in both 
countries have been only found in similar series, and when the fossils 
are similar it goes very far to prove the similarity of the formation, but 
it is not conclusive. 

2. Until a greater amount of the fossils of a bed’ are collected and 
studied, no one is warranted in determining positively the age to which 
the bed belongs. | 

The evidence heretofore collected and published was in favor of Mar- 
cou’s reference to the Jurassic. ‘The main part of the controversy be- 
tween Marcou and others in relation to the Jurassic at Tucumcari has 
been based upon the correctness of his determination of the Gryphoa 
dilatata, var. Tucumcari, Marcou. If the question is to be decided by 
the correctness of his determination, then the fact will have to be ad- 
mitted of the existence of the Jurassic at that place, for the fossil is not 
Gryphca pitcheri, but far from it, and is closely allied to the G. dila- 
tatu of Europe. 

What I contend for is that the whole fauna of a group must be consid- 
ered in order to correctly determine the age of a strata so nearly related 
as are the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and not upon the close resemblance 
or even identity of a few species with similar species in widely separated 
localities. There are exceptions to this point conterided for, which will 
be given when I present the evidence of the Cretaceous age of the Tu- 
cumcari beds. 

Mr. Hill has attempted -to correllate these beds with the Trinity 
sands, and I suppose he does so upon paleontological evidence, as he 
says the Ostrea marshii of Marcou is probably the same as Ostrea sub- 
ovata, Shumard, ‘‘which,’’ he says, ‘‘extends from the Travis peak 
(Trinity sands) to the Shoal creek limestones.’’ ‘There is no evidence 
that a single specimen of O. subovata, Shumard, has ever been found 
in the Trinity sands. ‘The locality given by Mr. Hill is not in the 
Trinity sands, but is above the first Caprotina horizon; therefore any 


*Bulletin No. 4, Texas Geological Survey, p. 7. 


208 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


argument that might be based upon the supposed identity of the two 
fossils would not go to prove the Trinity age of the Tucumcari beds. 

The reason for referring the Tucumcari beds to the Washita division 
of the Cretaceous is based upon the paleontology of the beds. During 
my explorations in that vicinity I collected a great number of fossils, 
which are now in the Museum at Austin. While the lithological char- 
acter and stratigraphical position of beds in certain cases may be very 
important factors in determining the age of the strata, yet it seems to 
me, where paleontological evidence can be had, it is by far the most 
conclusive. 

In 1861 Marcou wrote and published ‘‘Notes on the Cretaceous and 
Carboniferous Rocks of Texas,’’ in the proceedings of the Boston So- 
ciety of Natural History, Vol. VIII, January, 1861. In that article, 


after reviewing what Dr. Benjamin Shumard had written about Mar- — 
cou’s identification of the fossils found by him at Tucumcari with 


European Jurassic fossils, he says: ‘‘I can only express the wish that 
when Dr. Shumard goes to Pyramid Mount he may find more fossils 
than I did, and if any of them are Cretaceous and below the Crna 
tucumcari bed, I am ready to yield to such proof.’’ 

I did not find the Cretaceous fossils below the Gryphwa beds, but I 
found them in the beds, associated with the fossils found and described 
by Marcou. I believe if Marcou had seen the fossils I have collected 
he would not have hesitated to place the Tugumaari beds in the Creta- 
ceous. 

The following is a list of the fossils collected by me from the Tucum- 
cari beds in the vicinity of Tucumeari and Pyramid mountains: 

Gryphea dilatata, var. Tucumcari, Marcou. 

Ostrea marshii, as determined by Marcou. 

Gryphea pitcheri, Morton. 

Haxogyra tecana, Roemer. 

Ostrea quadriplicata, Shumard. 

Trigonia emoryi, Con. 

Cardium hillanum, Sow. 

Cytherea leonensis, Con. 

Lurritella seriatim granulata, Roem. 

Pinna, sp. 

Ammonites.. 

Pecten. 

These fossils at once show the age of the strata from which they 
were taken, leaving out of consideration for the present the first two in 
the list. 

The xogyra tecana, Roem., is found only in the Cretaceous, extend- 
ing from the base of the Fredericksburg division into the Washita divis- 
ion. Neither it or its congener in asa has ever been reported from 
the Jurassic. 


' 
" \ 
oo" i. 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 209 


Ostrea quadriplicata, Shumard, is very numerous in the Washita 
division of the Cretaceous, and has never been found elsewhere. The 0, 
erenulinaryo, Roemer, which is a very similar though specifically dis- 
tinct form, comes from a lower division. 

Peep enser emory?, Conrad, has been found in the Restate division of 
the Cretaceous. , 

Cardium hillanum, Sowerby. ‘This fossil has been reported from 
the Washita division. 

Cytheria leonensis, Conrad, is a Cretaceous fossil found only in the 
Washita division. 

Turritella seriatim-granulata, Roem.,is a Cretaceous fossil described 
from the Fredericksburg division. 

Gryphoea pitcheri, Morton, ranges from the middle of the Fredericks- 
burg division to the top of the Washita division. This fossil is so 
different from the G. dilatata, var. Tucumcari, Mar., that notwith- 
standing they are found in the same bed, there was not the slightest 
difficulty in distinguishing one from the other. 

The only representative of the fossil flora we found was in the sandstone 
above the bed of blue clay, bed ‘‘F’’ of Marcou’s section. A figure 
and description of one of the leaves is given at another place. 

This single specimen, taken from these beds, even if there was no 
_ other, is sufficient to establish the fact,that the strata are no older than 
the Cretaceous. It is true that, as a general thing, the whole of a flora 
or fauna of a strata ought to be examined before one can say defi- 
nitely the age to which the strata belong, yet there are cases where the 
_ sub-divisions may be definitely determined byasingle specimen. This 
matter is so clearly stated by Lester F. Ward in a late paper that I 
quote the following extract: 


_ “The great types of vegetatation are characteristic of the great epochs in geol- 

ogy. This principle is applicable in comparing deposits of widely different ages 
where the stratigraphy is indecisive. For example, in rocks that are wholly un- 
known even a small fragment of a carboniferous plant proves conclusively that 
they must be paleozoic, or a single dicotyledonous leaf that they must be as late as 
the Cretaceous.’’* 


While the Jurassic and Cretaceous are not widely separated, and 
both are in the Mesozoic, yet some of the plants are so widely different 
that a single specimen would be sufficient to determine that the age 
was no earlier than the Cretaceous. 

It is a conceded fact that the beginning of the Cretaceous period was 
the first of the plants classed as angiosperms, and that prior to that 
time not a single specimen, of what was afterwards an abundant flora, 
has been found. 


*Science, November 30, 1891, p. 282. 


210 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


The following statement has been found correct in relation to the 
flora of the Cretaceous: 


“The Cycads of the Triassic and Jurassic still existed, but they were accom- 
panied by the first yet known of the great modern group of angiosperms—the 
class which includes the oak, maple, willow and the ordinary fruit trees of the 
temporate regions, in fact all plants that have a bark éxcepting the conifers and 
cycads.”* 


That this plant figured belongs to the class which had its beginning 
in the Cretaceous seems to me beyond question, and with the evidence of 
the invertebrate fossils establishes beyond controversy the Cretaceous 
age of the Tucumcari beds. 


Figure 8. 


STERCULIA DRAKHI, SP. NOV. 


Palmately three lobed, lobes unequal, medial lobe longer, acute at apex, ner- 


vation indistinct, base of leaf not seen. 


LOCALITY 


Upper sandstone of the Tucumcari beds, four miles west of oe Tucumcari 
mountain, New Mexico. 

The only leaf of this species collected is well preserved in outline. It is 90 
mm. broad between the points of lateral lobes, which diverge at an angle of 30 
degrees. The center lobe is 90 mm. long above the point of divergence of the 
other two lobes. The lateral lobes are 70 mm. long. 


*Dana’s Manual of Geology, p. 458. 


7 
Ly - 


el 
a. =e 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 211 


VALLEY OF THE PHCOS. 


‘The territory embraced under this heading is the district of country 
situated between the western escarpment of the Staked Plains and the 
Guadalupe mountains on the west. This district might, with propriety, 
be called the valley of the Pecos river, concerning which very little 
has heretofore been written and published by any one. It seems to 


_ have been out of the line generally traveled by geological explorers, 


at least in recent years. From a point opposite the most northwestern 
extension of the Staked Plains to the northern line of Texas, a dis- 
tance of two hundred and twenty-five miles, and between the western 
escarpment of the Plains and the mountains there has never been a 
report made of the geology, so far as I am informed. During the 
years from 1852 to 1855 various parties crossed the lower part of this 
district, and the reports made at that time contain much valuable in- 
formation, yet the explorations were made tnder so many disad- 
vantages that it is a matter of surprise that the reports do not con- 
tain more errors than are really to be found in them. 

One of the questions to be studied by me during the past year’s field 
work rendered it necessary to study the geology of the country between 
the western edge of Texas and the mountains on the west, and for that 
purpose I made a trip the whole length of the district from Tucumcari 
Mount to Horsehead crossing on the Pecosriver. In this district the 
Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary formations 
occur, each of which will be given a brief description in the order 
in which they are mentioned. 


CARBONIFEROUS. 


The Carboniferous formation is found only in the higher mountain 
range and foot hills along the western border of the district. The 
thickest part observed, about two thousand feet, is on the south, proba- 
bly only because it is more exposed by upheaval and erosion in that 
direction than any other. It is no doubt much thicker. The strata 
are composed of massive layers of sandstones, limestones and shales. The 
dip is generally to the southeast, at a high angle in the mountains, but 
much less in the foot hills, and at places the beds are almost horizontal. 
There are localities where folds in the strata run at, or nearly at, right 
angles with the mountain range, making troughs in which the newer 
formations occur. 

The fossils found would indicate that the horizon is about the middle 
of the Carboniferous formation, as seen on the eastern side of the Plains. 

In the mountains there is a massive white limestone, first described 
by Dr. Shumard, in 1855, and supposed by him to be Permian, but 
none of the characteristic fossils were found in it, and its lithological 
characteristics are very different from the Permian which occur in the 


212 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


valley below and in the area east of the Staked Plains, where it is 
so largely exposed. ‘The strata are entirely barren of coal. The con- 
ditions necessary to the accumulation of vegetable material seem to 
have been entirely wanting during the deposition of the beds. I do 
not know of a single instance in which even a thin seam of coal has 
been found anywhere in the Coal Measures of West Texas. 

Just what amount of water the formation carries has never been as- 


certained, but it is known that some of the beds are water-bearing. ~ 


At the head of Delaware creek a spring issues from a fissure in the 
Carboniferous rocks, highly impregnated with sulphur, and emitting 
sulphureted hydrogen in such quantities as to be smelled for some dis- 
tance around the place. The same water was reached at a depth of 
eight hundred and thirty-two feet at Toyah, where it flows from the 
well in considerable quantities. 

Aside from these two places I do not know of a locality where water 
has been found in the Carboniferous strata in this part of the State. 
The probable reason of this is that the strata dip to the southeast, and 
only a short distance from the mountain range are overlaid by newer 
formations, and none of the wells put down have ever reached it. 


PERMIAN. 


The Permian formation was first seen in the vicinity of old Fort 
Sumner, and is continuous in the valley of the Pecos river entirely 


through the district under consideration. ‘The strata are composed of 


sandstones, limestones, gypsum, and beds of red and blue clay. 

The whole of this formation was placed by Dr. Shumard in the Cre- 
taceous under the name of Marly Clay. He did the same with the Red 
beds on the eastern side of the Staked Plains. He recognized the for- 
mation on both sides of the Plains as being the same, as they really 
are. He found no fossils during either of his trips up Red River, but 
determined the age by the stratigraphy alone. We found no fossils in 
the beds west of the Plains, but as we had traced the formation on 
both the eastern and northern sides, there was no doubt as to its being 
the same when we found it on the west. We made the determination 
on lithological grounds as well as stratigraphical relations. 

The strata lie unconformably on the Carboniferous, dipping at a 
smaller angle to the southeast. "The sandstones are much softer and 
more shaly than those of the Carboniferous, though there are places 
where they are very compact. 

The magnesian limestones have much the same characteristics as 
those east of the Plains. ‘They have been badly fractured by the later 
upheavals and disturbances of the strata. 

The gypsum lies in thick massive beds in the red clays, ranging in 
color from the snow white alabaster to the more coarse and earthy varie- 
ties. All the beds of red clay are more or less interstratified with 


ia 


As 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. Die 


thin seams of gypsum, and by seams of fibrous gypsum and selenite 
traversing and cutting the beds in every direction. 

The beds of clay are generally red, and range in thickness from a 
foot to one hundred feet or more. . All of them are more or less im- 
pregnated with salts of different kinds, principally chloride of sodium. 

The Pecos river has cut a broad valley and channel through the 
newer and overlying beds and into this formation, but at no place did 
I see the strata of the lower rocks exposed. It is probable that the dip 
of the Carboniferous puts it much below the bed of the river. ‘The 
thickness of the Permian beds on the west side of the Plains has not 
been determined. 

The heavy beds of gypsum end in a bold escarpment running par- 
allel with the Guadalupe mountains, near their southern extremity, 
and at a distance of five or six miles. All the water from these beds, 
or which runs across them, is more or less impregnated with salts, and 
is generally known as gypsum water. From the vicinity of old Fort 
Sumner to Roswell, a distance of seventy-five miles, all the water is of 
this sort. There are numerous extensive areas where the quantity of 
alkali is so great that no vegetation can grow. ‘Ten miles north of 
Roswell we passed a salt flat two or three miles in extent, and salt 
marshes were numerous. 

There is no artesian water in this formation, there being no stratum 
sufficiently porous to be water-bearing. The sandstones are generally 
cross-bedded, or so filled with clay that water could not readily pass 
through them, and notwithstanding the fact that the Pecos river has 
cut deeply across the strata of this formation, there are very few springs 
found issuing from it. Had there been much. water in any of these 
beds there would have been numerous large springs on the west side, 
as the strata dip toward the river from the west and are cut in two 
aycit. . ets 
- Any water that might be found in the Permian strata by deep boring 
would be so highly impregnated with salts as to be unfit for ordinary 
use. It would, however, be possible, anywhere west of the Staked 
Plains, to bore through the Permian and reach the water of the Car- 
boniferous at less than two thousand feet. 


TRIASSIC. 


- ‘This formation underlies the Tertiary along the western border of the 

Staked Plains, and at old Fort Sumner, on the Pecos river, rests directly 
upon the Permian. South of Fort Sumner, on the west side of the 
river, the Tertiary, where seen, overlies the Permian, the Triassic hav- 
ing been eroded before the deposition of the Tertiary. The details are 
given in a separate paper by my assistant, Mr. N. F. Drake. 


214 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


CRETACEOUS. 


The Cretaceous formation was seen north of the Davis mountains 
along the line of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, at Kent and other 
places to the westward, in a range of hills along the northern foot, ex- 
tending nearly to the southern end of the Guadalupe mountains. 

The highest beds seen were the Arietina clays. The general dip is 
to the eastward. ‘The formation does not seem to have been disturbed 
by the mountain upheavals, and was probably deposited ‘since there 
has been any considerable elevation of the older strata. The whole 
formation has been subjected to heavy erosion. Some of the hills are 
three hundred feet high, and the drift from the destruction of the strata 
is strewn all over the valley of the Pecos. 

The following is a section made at Kent: 

1. Alternating thin layers of friable limestone and calcareous clays, the 

clay being in thin layers and containing fragments of limestone. 

This bed contains Ostrea diluviana, Pecten texanus ‘?) and 7ox- ' 

Aster LEXONGE 0 we Ra ON I oe 20 feet... 
2. Massive limestone three feet thick, alternating with layers of white 

limestone and thin beds of clay. The massive layers weather uni- 

formly and would make good building stone. The upper layer te 

contains a great number of the young of the Axogyra arietina . 30 feet. 
3. Alternating layers of argillaceous limestone and clay. The lime- 

stone breaks on weathering into large pieces. It is slightly yel- 

lowish white. Twenty-five feet of the base of this bed has a great 

many Echinodermata, afew ammonites, large gasteropods, Wawiz- 

lus, and Leve0rvalula [WacoeHsi ss om eee eee ee 1 ee 240 feet. 
4, Alternating layers of limestone and clay, the limestone readily 

crumbling into small pieces with rounded surfaces or edges. It 

contains small Gryphea pitcheri, Toxaster texana, ammonites 

and Cyprimeria rn Qe eye Naa tee bela eee oot 40 feet. 
5. Shaly blue clay having three thin layers of brittle yellow limestone. / 

The upper layer near the top of bed contains Ostvea guadriplicata, 

Shumard. Thecenter layers contain a large number of ammonites, 

and a few Grypheea pitcheri and Cyprimeria. ‘The bottom layer 

has ammonites and Gryphwa pitchert ............. 30 feet. 

Below this section, in a well, is calcareous yellow sandstone for 
thirty feet, resting on blue shale. From the fossils I conclude that the 
strata belong at the top of the Washita division of the Cretaceous. 

Dr. Shumard reported having seen the Cretaceous strata near the 
mouth of the Delaware on the Pecos, but I passed over the same place 
and saw only the Permian. It must be borne in mind that he put the’ 
whole of the Permian in the Cretaceous, both on the eastern.and west- 
ern side of the Staked Plains, and what he called Cretaceous here has 
since been determined to be Permian, as well as that on the eastern 
side of the Staked Plains. It may have been that the Cretaceous strata 
covered much of the country now embraced in the eroded district east 
of the Guadalupe mountains, but there is now no part left on any of 


gt ee 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. PAE 


the area in proof that such was the case. No part of the Cretaceous 
was seen after leaving Tucumcari until near the southern part of the 
Guadalupe mountains, a distance of about two hundred and seventy- 
five miles in a direct line. The Tucumcari beds are probably the same 
as those occurring south of the Guadalupe mountains in the vicinity 
of Kent. 

The Cretaceous generally contains good water-bearing beds, but no 
water has been found in the formation west of the Pecos river and 
north of the Davis mountains; the cause of this is no doubt owing to 
the destruction of the strata by erosion, the strata being now merely 
fragmentary, and cut across at many places. 

The Cretaceous everywhere in the district rests directly upon the - 
Triassic wherever I have seen the contact. At other places in the west 
I have seen it directly in contact with the Carboniferous. 

TERTIARY. 

The Tertiary lies directly upon the Cretaceous at Tucumcari, and the 
whole distance from Tucumcari to the line of the Texas and Pacific 
Railroad, west of the Staked Plains, it rests directly upon the Triassic. 
On the western side of the Pecos river, at various places, there are 
patches of the Tertiary lying in troughs in the older strata, and may 
at one time have extended over the entire area from the foot of the 
mountains to the western boundary of the Staked Plains. In fact it is 
evident that the remnants of the Tertiary found on the western side of 
the Pecos river are a part of the Staked Plains, and that which once 
existed in the intermediate space has been destroyed by erosion. 

Southward from Roswell, in New Mexico, to the mouth of Seven 


‘Rivers, there are broad level plateaus with a slight dip to the southeast. 


At numerous places are outcrops of a white chalky limestone that very 
much resembles the upper bed of the Tertiary on the Staked Plains. 
It is probable that the source of the water in the big springs near Ros- 
well is in the base of the Tertiary. As soon as the water from the 
mountains on the west reaches the foothills it sinks at once into the 
Quarternary drift, and then no doubt passes to the base of the Tertiary, 
and when it reaches the point where the stratum has been cut by ero- 
sion, it breaks out in the large springs mentioned. 

There were valleys of erosion at places in the older strata before the 
deposition of the Tertiary, and when that occurs the water collects in 
narrow streams and finally rushes out in springs of large size, such as 
the springs at the head of North and South Spring creek, in the vicinity 
of Roswell. 

No Tertiary was seen south of the mouth of Seven Rivers, on the 
west side of the Pecos river: A great dealof the country between the 
north line of Texas and the Davis mountains on the south is so deeply 
covered with Recent drift that if any part of the Tertiary remains in 
that region it is hidden under this drift. 


216 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 


IRRIGATION IN THE PECOS VALLEY. 


The area intended to be embraced under the above caption is the 
district already described, between the western escarpment of the 
Staked Plains and the foot of the mountain range on the west. 

The Pecos river rises in the mountains one hundred miles northwest 
of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and runs through the district under con- 
sideration from northwest to southeast. 

After emerging from the foot hills the broad plains on each side of it 
stretch away in every direction as far as the eye can reach. These 
broad plateaus can be reached by the waters of the Pecos river and its 
tributaries, by systems of irrigating canals which have been already 
inaugurated. ‘This valley is within-the arid belt; thatis, in the area in 
which there is insufficient rainfall to mature the crops, and all agricul- 


tural pursuits are dependent upon irrigation, but there is no district in _ 


that belt so well supplied with water as the Pecos valley. Not only 
does the river run through the entire district with its never failing 
stream fed by the snows of the mountains about its source, and the 
numerous mountain streams, but there are numerous other streams 
flowing into it from the western side, and along the valley are many 
large springs whose waters give a constant supply. | 

The water of the Pecos river is clear and pure when it issues from 
the mountains, but soon after reaching the foot hills it becomes im- 
pregnated with salt from the Permian clays, and when it reaches the 
water of the large springs in the vicinity of Roswell it is more highly 
charged with these salts than at any other place along its entire course. 
At Roswell and below, as far as the Texas State line, there are many 
large streams of fresh clear water running into the river, and these so 
dilute the water of the Pecos that no damage is to be apprehended from 
its use below that point for irrigating, even if it should be unfit for it 
above, which I do not think, for it has-been so used above the con- 
fluence of these fresh water streams without any deleterious results. 

At old Fort Sumner, while the United States troops were stationed 
there, several hundred acres were under cultivation, irrigated with 
water from the Pecos river. About the time of the abandonment of 
the Fort by the troops, in 1870, the dam across the river washed out, 
and there has never been enterprise or capital enough to rebuild it and 
the irrigating scheme at that place has been given up. ‘The only evi- 
dence now existing of the former enterprise is the old irrigation ditch 
and the long line of cottonwood trees planted at that time growing 
along the margin of the old canal and on each side of a broad roadway 
north of the old fort. | 

The water of the streams emptying into the Pecos river in the vicinity 
of Roswell has been used for irrigation for several years, but in a com- 


far? 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 217 


paratively small way, a part only of the water being taken up. Re- 
cently, however, more extensive operations have been undertaken. 
The system now inaugurated will make it possible to bring under cul- 
tivation about four hundred thousand acres of land in the Pecos valley 
between Roswell, New Mexico, and the southern line of Ward county, 
Texas. The following is a brief statement of some of these enter- 
prises: 
THE PECOS IMPROVEMENT AND IRRIGATION COMPANY. 

This company has two main canals in the Pecos valley in New 
Mexico. The northern canal takes its water from the Hondo river, 
about five miles east of Roswell, and one hundred and fifteen miles 
north of the Texas State line. This canal extends along and nearly 
parallel with the Pecos river. At the time of my first visit, in August, 
1891, it was completed to the Felix river, a distance of twenty-five miles. 
It will be extended to Seven Rivers, making in alla length of fifty miles. 
This canal is thirty feet wide at the bottom and will carry five feet 
of water. It is thought that the water thus taken out, together with 
that obtained by storing the flood waters, will be sufficient to irrigate 
about one hundred thousand acres of land. 

About six miles north of Eddy a dam has been constructed across 
the Pecos river, in a most skillful manner. It is built of limestone 
rock laid in cement, is forty feet high and one thousand one hundred and 
forty long. The lake formed by this dam is seven miles long and one 
and three fourths miles wide, and holds one billion (1,000,000,000) cubic 
feet of water, enough to supply the ditch with a full head for nearly 
one month. The main canal leading from the dam is forty-five feet at 
the bottom and will carry seven feet of water. 

Four miles below the dam the water is divided into two smaller canals, 
one of which is flumed across the river and goes down the stream on 
the westside; this canal is completed to Black river, a distance of about 
twenty-five miles. The other goes down the the river on the eastern 
side; its total length will be about twenty-five miles, and will bring 
under cultivation about fifty thousand acres of land. 

Very little, comparatively, of the lands covered by these canals have 
been put under irrigation. Where they have been cultivated the pro- 
duction of crops has met the most saguine expectations. 


HAGERMAN CANAL. 


The water for this canal will be taken out of the Pecos river about 
fifteen miles below the town of Eddy. It has not yet been completed. 
Along its course will be a large storage reservoir, one and a half miles 
long and one mile wide, with an average depth of twenty-five feet. 
The water will be taken out on the eastern side of the river, but will 
be flumed across between Black river and Delaware creek, and con- 
tinued to the Texas State line. 


218 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


TEXAS LAND AND WATER COMPANY. 

About thirty miles below the point on the Pecos river where the line 
between ‘Texas and New Mexico crosses, the Texas Land and Water 
Company is building a dam for the purpose of irrigating the lands on 
the western side. The dam is built of material found in the vicinity 
and of limestone brought down by the Pecos Valiey Railroad from Red 
Bluff. ‘The canal will extend southward to Toyah creek, south of the 
Texas and Pacific Railroad, a distance of about forty-two miles. It 
will be thirty feet wide at the bottom, and will carry six feet of water. 
By this canal there will be brought under irrigation about seventy 
thousand acres. ‘There will be reservoirs at convenient localities along 
the line, wherein the storm water can be stored, which will add largely 
to the capacity of the works. 

PIONEER CANAL, COMPANY. 

The head of the canal of the Pioneer Canal Company, whose head- 
quarters are at Pecos City, in Reeves county, is about eight miles north 
of Pecos City. At that place there is a natural dam or falls in the river, 
which obviated the necessity and expense of constructing an artificial 
dam to force the water into the canal. They simply cut their canal 
and put in a head-gate, so as to take out just such quantity of water as 
may be found necessary or desirable. ‘The water is taken out on the 
west side of the river, and the canal is already constructed to a distance 
of seventeen miles, and will bring under irrigation about thirteen 
thousand acres of land. 

This company is now constructing a canal on the eastern side of the 
river also, which will be thirty-five miles long, and will irrigate about 
seventy thousand acres of land. ‘The water will be flumed across the 
river five miles north of the town of Pecos. 


SOILS AND WATERS OF THE PECOS VALLEY. 


There are three different classes of soil in the Pecos valley with their / 


intermediate grades. ‘The first is a reddish adobe soil, composed of the 
later river deposit. The second is a sandy loam and is an admixture 
of the soils of the first class and the sand from the higher elevations. 
The third class is a sandy soil and has been made principally from the 
detritus from the surrounding and adjacent hills. 

The first and second classes of these soils are more or less impregna- 
ted with salts in the form of chlorides as will be seen at another place 
in this report. That a certain percentage of these salts are beneficial 
to plant growth is well known, but where they are in excess they be- 
come deleterious to plant life. That the soils of the Pecos do not con- 
tain these salts in excess is shown by the vigorous growth on them and 
the large yield in the crops where they have been cultivated. 

In the valley of the Nile in Egypt the most fertile soil has as much 
as three per cent of common salt, and yet they raise abundant harvests 
every year. 


>) ee 


WN 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 219 


There are places, however, in the Pecos valley where there is an ex- 
cess of these salts and where no vegetation except salt grass will grow. 
These places are known as alkali spots. Even they are made capable 
of producing excellent crops by washing out the surplus salts. 

These spots vary in size from a few feet in diameter to several acres, 
By analysis they are found to contain lime, soda and potash. ‘The 
soda is present as chloride, sulphate and carbonate. Wherever these 


- alkali spots occur it has been found that the highest percentage of the 


salts was at the top or on the surface, sometimes forming incrustation. 
The cause of this is probably that when the water is taken up from the 
surface by evaporation, leaving the salts behind, other water comes up 
from the subsoil charged with salts, which in turn is evaporated, and 
so the process goes on from year to year, and as the rainfall and drain- 


_age is not sufficient to carry off the surplus salt deposit it is left on the 


land. 

It has been found practicable to redeem these spots and make them 
as productive as the other lands. -To accomplish this, various plans 
have been adopted. ‘The best way is to flood the land and let the water 
carry off the salts where water in sufficient quantities can be had. It 
has been found that the planting of certain crops on the land would 
greatly diminish the amount of alkali. Beets and sorghum grown on 
the land will doit very rapidly. 

Care must be taken in irrigating with Pecos water that the amount 
of alkali in the soil be not increased rather than diminished, for all the 
water in the Pecos river is more or less charged with alkali. This can 
be avoided by flooding the land occasionally and letting the surplus 
water flow back into the original ditch or river. 

That there are more salts in the lands after they have been irrigated 
three years than in the virgin soil, is shown by the analyses of the soils 
collected by myself from the experimental farm of the Pioneer Canal 
Company and analyzed by Mr. L,.. E. Magnenat, chemist of the Survey, 
but whether the increase of the salts was by successive deposits or from 
that of the last irrigation cannot now be determined. The following 
statement is taken from Supplement.to Bulletin No. 2, relating to this 
matter: 

Soil No. 1. ' Virgin soil from section 174, block 34, H. & T. C. Ry. Co. 

Soil No. 2. Unirrigated, experimental farm. 

Soil No. 2a. Irrigated soil, experimental farm. 


Soil No. 3. Unirrigated soil, experimental farm. 
Soil No. 3a. Irrigated soil, experimental farm. 


Total water Soluble. Sodium Chloride. 
Pe GOR GS Ea tose ec tn 0.16 per cent. 0.046 per cent. 
(Ne Ae RAMA aig tell Mae Ok ae oe 0.23 per cent. 0.044 per cent. 
MINORCA ts Sorta Teh male gate» fe os oo hte 0.38 per cent. 0.074 per cent. 
RON Te ee a ea snes ict ge ath Noe coe 0.48 per cent. 0.092 per cent. 


PEPIN! OA, Joys aah. fe EL . » 1.26 per cent. 0.164 per cent 


7 


220 LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


While this is true. however, the total amount of sodium chloride 
which is present in the soil is so small, and the annual addition from 
the water used in irrigation is so little, that it will require many years 
cultivation to bring the total amount into anything like a dangerous 
quantity. Thus, in soil No. 2 and 2a, the increase is only ten thou- 
sandths of one per cent annually, and even in the one showing the 
largest increase, No. 3 and 3a, the difference is only twenty-four thou- 
sandths of one per cent, at which rate it would require nearly forty . 
years to bring the total up to even one per cent of ‘the entire soil, an 
amount which in itself is far below an excess. 

Having ascertained this fact by analysis, it then remained to deter- 
mine the combination in which the large amounts of alkalies, which 
we have previously found in the soils, existed. 

The water soluble matter was first analysed. Solution was effected 
by heating with water for five days over a water bath and the alkalies 
determined in the filtrate. The results are as follows: 


; No. 1. No. 5. No. 6, 
Potassiuni .* . 5a, Be eee ee ee el ee 0.024 0.07 Trace. 
Sodinm .°.) . PSS ygeaeee eee ea en ea 0.220 0.25 0.11 
Sulphuric acid: 34) Gee aeee ake Le eee 0.500 0.60 ° Trace. 
Carbonic acid .3ee FU ais oe See es De Trace. Trace. - Trace. 
Chiorine!..; 4) see ee RC ait ey OE SPN RT Pi: 0.27 0.10 Trace. 


In the water soluble material, therefore, the alkalies are present as 
sulphates and chlorides, with traces of sodium carbonate. 

The total amounts of alkalies present were then determined in fresh 
portions by the method of Professor L. Smith, with carbonate of lime 
and sal ammoniac, with the following results: 


No. 1. No. 5. No. 6. 

Sodirmy oS Se ea ee 3:23 4.32 4.11 
Potassium ‘20003055. ae ee ee 2.61 QT 1.58 
Total: (505 5 eae ae ee . 5.84 7.09 5.69 


Taking into consideration the amounts of sulphuric acid, carbonic 
acid and chlorine present, as shown in the analyses, it is evident that 
the larger portion of the alkalies must exist as silicates, since there is 
nothing else for them to combine with. ‘This is rendered the more 
certain by the consideration that the rock material from which the 
soils are derived is largely feldspathic in its nature, consisting of the 
intrusive porphyries which cover such an amount of the area west and 
north of that locality. 

With this explanation, the apparent excess of alkalies is shown to 
be in no wise dangerous to the agricultural prospects of the valley. 

Too much attention cannot be given to the manner of irrigation, in 
order to preserve the present fertile condition of the soil. 

The water of the Pecos river, as seen from the analyses, carries salt, 
which if not removed by flooding or drainage will in time so impreg- 


1k ee 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 24 


nate the soils that they will lose their present fertility. There must 
always be sufficient drainage to prevent this accumulation of the salts. 
As long as there is any water these salts will be held in solution, and it 
is only from the last evaporation that the salts are precipitated. If, there- 
fore, there are drainage ditches made and kept open so that the last of 
the water is carried off into the river, no evil results will occur. 

The result of this want of drainage can be seen in localities on the Rio 
Grande. ‘There are places along that river, where for lack of drainage, 
the land has become so saturated with alkali as to render it absolutely 
worthless for agricultural purposes, and had to be abandoned. Yet in 
the same vicinity where the land was so situated that it could be oc- 
casionally flooded, it has retained its original fertility, although under 
cultivation for a great number of years. 

Irrigation has been carried on along the Nile in Egypt from time im- 
memorial. ‘There are places along the upper Nile where the cultivation 
of certain crops has long since been abandoned because of the large 
amount of salts deposited from the water. But this is only the case 
where there was very poor drainage, or none at all, and where all the 
water turned on the land was taken up by evaporation. 

In the center of the delta of the Nile, very often the soil contains as 
high as four per cent of chloride of sodium, yet no deleterious results 
have accrued. The land is flooded every year and the drainage is 
sufficient to carry off the surplus water, and with it goes the excess of 
salts that may have been deposited from the previous irrigations. 


ARTESIAN WELLS. 


Another source of water in the country west of the Staked Plains 
will be that of artesian wells. Just how abundant that supply will be 
has not yet been determined. That the artesian water district will be 
very extensive there is not much hope, and the area will be confined to 
the country east of the mountain range. Very little effort has been 
made to determine the matter, and at only a few places have borings 
been made. 

At Roswell, in New Mexico, water has been found in wells of one 
hundred and sixty to two hundred feet deep, which yield a small flow 
of water. The probabilities are that the source is the base of the 
Tertiary. . 

At Toyah there is a flowing well which yields three hundred gallons | 
per minute. The water was found at the depth of eight hundred and 
thirty-four feet, and is impregnated with sulphur and common salt. It 
has been used in a small way for irrigation, and is suitable for such 
purposes, as the vegetation does not seem to be injured by its use. 

This is the only place where this bed of artesian water has been 
reached, and no effort has been made to determine the extent of the 
basin. ‘The water is found in the Carboniferous strata,.and as that 


yyy LLANO ESTACADO OR STAKED PLAINS. 


formation is quite extensive towards the east and has a dip in that di- 
rection, it is more than probable that water can be had as far east as 
the western escarpment of the Staked Plains. 

The elevation of Toyah is two thousand nine hundred and seventy- 
five feet above the sea level, while the Pecos river, which is about 
twenty-five miles to the eastward, is two thousand six hundred feet, a 
difference of three hundred and seventy-five feet. Nothing is known 
positively as to the rate of the dip of the strata of the Carboniferous in 
this part of the State, but it is not probable that it is very great after 
getting away from the mountains. With the difference of elevation 
between Toyah and Pecos, and in favor of the latter, it is highly prob- 
able that the same stratum of water can be found at Pecos as at Toyah 
at a depth of less than twelve hundred feet, and that it will flow from 
the surface under good pressure. 

There are twenty-three flowing wells at Pecos City within an area of 
two miles, ranging in depth from one hundred and eighty-five to three 
hundred and fifteen feet. The wells are three inches in diameter and 
have a flow of sixty gallons to the minute, or eighty-six thousand four 
hundred gallons per hour. That amount of water would irrigate one 
acre of aed with three inches of water per day. 

These wells cost from three hundred to five hundred dollars oath 
The water in them is slightly brackish, but pleasant to the taste. It 
has been used in some instances to irrigate small pieces of land for 
vegetables and fruits, the only products for which the water has been 
used, and they grow most luxuriantly. 

The extent of this artesian area has not been fespead but I am in- 
clined to the opinion that it is not very extensive. I think it is, how- 
ever, only one of several such areas along the eastern side of the 
mountain range. There are troughs in the folds of the strata running 
at right angles with the mountain range, which are filled with the 
newer formations, and all of them are water-bearing, and most of them 
will be artesian basins. 

The strata are so covered up at Pecos City by the drift from the 
breaking down of the Cretaceous rocks, that the geological age of the 
water-bearing stratum cannot be definitely determined. The strata 
passed through in boring these wells are different at each well. , 

The following is a section of the strata passed through in boring the 


Cox well in the town of Pecos, the depth of which is two hundred and 
_ fifty-five feet: 


Te) Bo ee a a ee, 1 foot. 
2. awatite-clay: 2... oS ee ae 20 feet. 
8.° Omicksand yo) 00.5. 05 eh De ee 2 feet. 
4/* Soft sandstone ¢-'. 0... | 3 ee Sat ye Res 47 feet. 
5.) Stte-yellow, clay <3. 2- °c 20 feet. 
6. Quicksand. 6. 4, ES ee 10 feet. 


GEOLOGY WEST OF THE PLAINS. 3 


Bemmoeaterands bine Clay. AF), atic dk I ek 20 feet. 
SEV CED My 200, aaa Cea. 4 Matce, Gta SEE ON Petey 5s 5 feet. 
SII CCPSATIGU Murrey A sd eye ae hs Oe si fe ba 5 feet. 
ROTC Clay eran et cit.) St, ae tt eae toe Mol. 120 feet. 
RPLTICL GULL OT AVEL croak hea St ile alee OCR MRR aCe . 5 feet. 
255 feet. 


The wells one and a half miles north of the town are only one hun- 
dred and eighty-five feet deep. The water-bearing stratum seems to 
dip very rapidly to the southward, as none of them in the south part 
of the town are less than two hundred and fifty feet deep, while the 
surface of the ground has a dip of only a few feet tothe mile. The 
temperature in the well farthest to the south is seventy degrees. “IT‘he 
pressure in some of the wells is sufficient to force the water thirty-five 
feet above the surface. 


Captain Pope's Wells —In 1855 Captain John Pope, of the United 
States Topographical Engineers, attempted to bore an artesian well 
fifteen miles east of the Pecos river, at the mouth of Delaware creek. 
At the depth of three hundred and sixty feet water was reached, which 
arose seventy feet in the well and remained at that height. At the 
depth of six hundred and forty feet a second supply of water was ob- 
tained. This water rose three hundred and ninety feet, when the red 
clay caved in and completely cut off the water, and after several days 
labor it was found impossible to remove the material that had caved in. 

They then went five miles east of the previous location and attempted 
to bore another well. Ata depth of two hundred and forty-five feet 
the first water was reached, which rose twenty-five feet and remained 
at that level. Ata depth of six hundred and seventy-six feet another 
stratum of water-bearing sandstone was reached. ‘The water rose to 
within one hundred and ten feet of the surface. The boring was con- 
tinued to a depth of eight hundred and sixty-one feet without reaching 
any other water. The work was discontinued. 

The details of the work show that the last water found was below a 
blue shale, which is no doubt the Carboniferous, and the water was in 
all probability the same as that of the flowing well now at Toyah. 

A detailed statement of this work is given in a report made by Cap- 
tain Humphries to the Secretary of War, in Supplenient to Volume 7, 
Pacific Railroad Reports, page 951. 


5 
’ ~~ 


OF THE 


SSIC FORMATION 


OF 


NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


r 

jy? 
7) - ¢ 
ts! wy 4 


lah jee ; ; ‘ 


BY 


a! ear 


Se DRAKE. 


‘ 
‘ty 
mg 

: 
, 


a = 


uA: TG Riad ie 


OF THE 


TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


ii Ave eet ota mink ¥ 
BY ON} E. DRAKE, 


The Triassic formation was examined in the vicinity of Dockum, 


- Dickens county, by Professor W. F. Cummins, in 1889, and by him 


described, under the name of Dockum beds, in the First Annual Report 
of the Texas Geological Survey.* In the Second Annual Report of 
the Surveyt he gave a more extended description of these beds, and 
stated the published conclusions of other geologists concerning the for- 
mation in Texas, drawn from previous observations. 

I first saw this formation at Dockum, in company with Professor 
Cummins, in 1889, being attached to his party as assistant; but nearly 
all of the present report is the result of observations made by myself 
in Texas and New Mexico during the past field season. 

The Dockum beds underlie all, or nearly all, of the Staked Plains of 
‘Texas and southeastern New Mexico, extend further back into New 


_ Mexico northwest of the Plains, and have some extension under the 


Cretaceous area south of them in Texas. 

The limit of the Plains on the east, north and west is marked by an 
escarpment which is usually from one to two hundred, and sometimes 
three or four hundred feet high. ‘The basal portion, sometimes nearly 
all of this escarpment, is composed of the Triassic beds. ‘These beds 
usually extend six or seven miles from the base of the escarpment and 
nearly surround the plains by a narrow band, as is shown on the map, 
Pilate TV. 

As is there shown, this belt extends through Iatan, Mitchell county; 
Gail, Borden county; Dockum and Espuela, Dickens county; Goodnight, 
Armstrong county; three miles north of Amarillo, Potter county; cen- 
tre of Oldham county; Liberty, New Mexico, and with some breaks 
down the east side of the Pecos river to Castle Mountains, Crane county. 
The formation spreads out to a considerable width in the vicinity of 
Liberty, New Mexico, and west of the Pecos river opposite Fort Sum- 
ner.” 

TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 


The nearly horizontal strata of sandstone, conglomerate and clay, 
varying in thickness and resistance to erosion, have been carved into 


by branches, ravines and creeks, leaving a rolling landscape. ‘The reg- 


* Pages 189, 190. 
tT Pages 424-428. 


998 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


ular undulating nature of the beds is occasionally interrupted by more 
or less precipitous outcrops of sandstone or conglomerate strata. These 


rocks, resisting erosion longer than the others, often remain capping 


some point or ridge, walling in the narrow valley of some creek, or 
forming the channel walls of some ravine or branch. These sandstones 
or conglomerates are, however, rather soft, and their outcrops are not 
usually conspicuous away from the rapidly carving action of the streams, 
but give a rolling character to the surface by slightly holding in check 
the wear of points here and there, while the intervening softer rocks 
are worn deeper and deeper. 

The topography of the Triassic beds is undoubtedly affected to some 
extent by irregularities in the erosion of the overlying Tertiary beds. 
This erosion first marking the places that are afterwards worn down 
into drainage courses or left as dividing ridges. . 

Going back from the foot of the Plains to where: the Dockum beds 
disappear, the rolling nature of the country grows somewhat less and 
in some places is quite level. 


LITHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 


Sandstones, conglomerates, and clays constitute nearly all of the 
strata of this formation. 

The materials composing the different strata vary somewhat in lith- 
ological characteristics at different localities, and even at the same 
locality, but the general characteristics are quite uniform, and are so 
different from the underlying Permian and overlying Cretaceous or 
Tertiary, that they are usually easily recognized. This is especially 
true of the sandstones and conglomerates. 


SANDSTONES. 


The sandstones before exposure to weather are generally nearly white, 
but sometimes gray, red, or bluish in color. Massive, shaly, and false 
bedding are common. ‘The texture varies from a fine, even-grained, 
to a grit or conglomeritic sandstone. White and a few brown mica 
flakes, varying in size from a mere speck to one-eighth of an inch in 
diameter, are nearly always present. This mica is so abundant in some 
of the rocks as to make them fissile. ‘The sandstones are usually fria- 
ble, but weather with a smooth flat surface and with an average sharp- 
ness of angle for sandstone rocks. 


CONGLOMERATES. 


The conglomerates are of two kinds. The one most characteristic 
and widespread is composed of small pieces of brownish, yellowish or 
bluish colored, sub-angular, indurated, clayey sandstone fragments, 
averaging about the size of a pea, imbedded in a matrix of sand or 


F 4 %3 


‘ ¢ * 
aes 


STRATIGRAPHY. 229 


a 


grit usually calcareous. ‘The other is composed of siliceous pebbles in 
a matrix of sand and grit. The pebbles are usually small and well 
rounded, and of nearly all shades of color, but white quartz are the 
most numerous. The quantity of siliceous pebbles varies at different 
localities from more than half thé rock mass to very few. Both con- 
glomerates contain silicified wood at some localities. The bedding of 
the siliceous conglomerate is unusually even and regular or slightly 
false, while that of the first named is false almost without exception. 
These two conglomerates graduate into each other, and even where 


one is the most characteristic the other usually enters into it more or 
less. 


CLAYS. 


The clays are a dark red or blue, with some variations of yellowish 
and purple, and are calcareous and arenaceous. The blue clays are 
not very common, are nearly always highly arenaceous, and frequently 
contain vertebrate remains. The red clays are seen at nearly every 
outcrop, and are often more than a hundred feet thick, with probably a 
few thin layers of sandstone distributed through the strata. 


THICKNESS AND UNCONFORMABILITY. 


The slight difference in dip, and sudden change in lithological char- 
acter of the Triassic beds from the Permian, point conclusively toa 
break in the sedimentation of the two formations. At some localities 
the Triassic beds are overlaid by Cretaceous, but generally by Tertiary 
material. The Cretaceous escarpment or buttes resting on the Triassic 
beds are often two hundred feet thick, and mostly limestone. The de- 
nuding forces that for an immense length of time were cutting these 
Cretaceons rocks back towards their present limits must have carried 
away a great deal of the Triassic before it was covered by Tertiary. 
The strata thus enclosed between two unconformable beds must of 
necessity vary in thickness, and so we find it varying from a few feet 
to nearly four hundred feet. Even in localities close together the beds 
vary considerably in thickness. ‘The average, however, will probably 
reach two hundred feet. 


STRATIGRAPHY. 


The following classification or grouping of strata is not intended as 
a correlation with any other Triassic beds, but only to apply to the 
Dockum beds over the area examined. The Dockum may be divided 
into three beds, though some localities show more, that are more or less 
well-marked. ‘The sections on Plate V show these beds as they occur 
at different places on the east and north side of the Plains from Signal 
Peak, Howard county, to Itucumcari Mount, New Mexico. ‘These 
three main beds are as follows: A lower bed of sandy clay, which is 
from 0 to 150 feet thick; a central bed or beds of sandstone, conglom- 


TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


230 


PLATE V. 


Geological Survey of Texas. 


He 


! 
' 
! 
' 
' 
\ 
! 
' 
’ 
' 
’ 
4 
’ 


i " 
Pu 


eS al. 


ide BS wane eee eee a ae a a a a a ee ee ee ’ 


{ spag Jadda iSpog jesjuay. spog J2Mm07} i 


SECTIONS SHOWING THE RELATION OF THE TRIASSIC BEDS OF THE STAKED PLAINS, 


c. Sandy clay. 


b. Conglomeritic false-bedded sandstone. 


a. Cross-bedded sandstone. 


e. Calcareous sandstone. 


d. Clay. 


STRATIGRAPHY. 28% 


erate, and some sandy clay, which is from 0 to 235 feet thick; an upper 

bed of sandy clay and some sandstone, which is from 0 to 300 feet 
thick. While these groups represent the different geological horizons 
over most of the Triassic area, there is nevertheless at some places a 

. thinning out of one, and a thickening of another, which shows that at 
the same time the conditions of deposition were somewhat different at 
different localities. The same geological horizon is, therefore, more or 
less represented in other beds than that which generaliy represents it. 
Then, while these three beds do not absolutely represent geological 
horizons, they do so approximately, and are so well marked as to be of 
much stratigraphical value. 


THE LOWER BED. 


The lower bed of sandy clay occurs well marked lithologically at the 
base of all, or nearly all, of the Triassic area, and may usually be dis- 
tinguished from the underlying Permian by being of a darker red 
color, more sandy, less stratified, and free from gypsum strata. At 
Iatan, Mitchell county, at least fifty feet of this lower or basal sandy 
clay may be seen in a section along the escarpment and adjacent 
ravines. Its thickness in Mitchell, Howard and Gordon counties must 
be something near one hundred feet, but becomes somewhat thinner in 
Garza, Crosby and Dickens counties, and in them will probably not 
average over fifty feet. In Dickens county it is quite frequently inter- 
stratified with a few thin layers of sandstone. Through Motley and 

_ Briscoe counties its thickness is considerably increased, and is some- 
what more sandy and interstratified with thin layers of sandstone, es- 
pecially toward the top. In Armstrong, Potter and Oldham counties 
the beds average in thickness over one hundred feet, with a slight in- 
crease toward the northwest. » This increase most probably continues 
on to Liberty or Tucumcari mountains, New Mexico, though the 
base of the Triassic was not seen at these places. At most of the 
places where seen in the above named area this bed was less arenaceous 
than further southeast or southwest, and at some localities in Arm- 
strong county it contairs but little’sand. Southward from Tucumcari 
it seems to become thinner, and may possibly not occur in the south- 
eastern part of the Triassic area, though it most likely exists there. In 
the most western escarpment of the Staked Plains, in southeast New 
Mexico, east of Eddy and Lookout, there is forty to seventy-five feet 
or more of red sandy clay or clayey sand that most probably belongs 
to this lower bed. ‘This outcrop extends southward, from about fifteen 
miles east of Eddy, to the east side of the Pecos river valley, five miles 
east of Lookout, but may not be continuous all the way. Fast of 
Eddy this stratum is about forty feet thick, and rests between the gyp- 
sum beds and the Tertiary strata. East of Lookout it is seventy-five 


22 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


feet or more in thickness, and is overlaid by the Tertiary. The basal — 


contact was not seen there. 

East of Pecos City the strata lying between the Tertiary and the 
regular gypsum beds are red sandy clays and red sandstone of even 
grain and regular parallel bedding. The sandstone is tough and 
makes an excellent building stone, and is largely quarried. It isin 
two massive layers, three to four feet thick, with a great many thinner 
layers. The position of these beds places them with the Triassic, but 
their characteristics are so different from the Dockum beds material 
that I cannot say now just where they belong. If these are Triassic 
strata, as seems most probable, they undoubtedly belong to the lower 
bed, and have no outcrop in the eastern or northern border of the 
Dockum beds. 

Going on south along the lower escarpment facing the east bank of 
the Pecos river, these red sandstones come down to the base of the 
escarpment and pass out of sight, and red sandy and black gypsiferous 
clays come in under the overlying Tertiary and continue in an outcrop 
of eight or ten feet down to a point northwest of Castle mountain, 
where the escarpment is lost in rolling lands that are often covered 
with sand beds. These sandy clays, or clayey sands, are probably a 
part of the lower beds of the Triassic. | 


THE CENTRAL BEDS. 


The Central beds of sandstone, conglomerate, and sandy clay are ~ 


represented in the southeastern part of the Triassic area by sandstone 
and conglomerate strata interstratified with sandy clay. 

There are, however, but two very well marked sandstone and conglom- 
erate horizons, as may be seen by referring to the comparative sections, 
Plate V. ‘The strata of each vary in thickness from three or four feet 
to twenty-five or thirty feet, and it may be that they are not altogether 
continuous. The variations in thickness are more or less conspicuous 
throughout the entire extent of the two horizons, and there is nearly 
- always a marked distinction between them in the northern part of Garza 
county, all the way across Crosby ‘and Dickens counties, and in the 
northern part of Motley. In these localities the lower horizon is more 
especially characterized by the siliceous pebbles, and is usually thicker 
than the upper. ‘Towards the northern part of Motley county the two 
beds increase in thickness, come together, and continue as one distinct 
bed to Liberty, New Mexico. From the point where the two unite and 
form one bed it increases in thickness toward the north and northwest, 
and gradually loses its siliceous pebbles, until in Armstrong county it 
is almost entirely destitute of them, and is two hundred and twenty-five 
feet thick. From Armstrong county north and northwest it thins out 
quite rapidly, and is but about twenty-five feet thick at T'ucumcari 
mountain, New Mexico. 


2 gh “s 
a 
e.. iret 
. 2 
, 
LP 
. . 
. 


STRATIGRAPHY. 233 


North and south of Fort Sumner, New Mexico, the Central bed in- 
creases considerably, but contains some sandy clays or clayey sand 
strata. 

At the salt lake, about twenty-five miles east of Eddy, New Mexico, 
this bed is shown in alternating sandstone, sandy clay and conglomeritic 
calcareous sandstone strata. See section, plate V.* 

In wells at and near the Cowan ranch, about thirty-five miles east of 
Lookout, New Mexico, this sandstone and conglomerate horizon is 
reached under a few feet of Tertiary strata. At Castle mountain red 
sandstone, sandy clays and conglomeritic sandstone underlie the Creta- 
ceous strata, and very probably belong to this Central bed. 


UPPER BEDS. 


The upper beds, of sandy clay and some sandstone, is thickest where 
overlaid by the Cretaceous formation, and rapidly thins and disappears 
away from the Cretaceous border. ‘The denudation of post-Cretaceous 
times carried away the most of these beds where there was no overlying 
Cretaceous stratum to protect them. So we have left only remnants of 
the upper beds under and around the Cretaceous in the southeastern 
part of the Triassic field, at Tucumcari mountains and vicinity, New 
Mexico, and possibly under the Cretaceous at Castle mountains, Crane 
county. 

In Howard county these upper sandy clay beds under the Cretaceous 
formation are about one hundred feet thick, and at Signal Peak and 
vicinity have some false-bedded sandstone at the top. 

In Borden county they are eighty or ninety feet thick, and extend 
quite a distance into Garza county. 

From northern Garza county around to Oldham county these upper 
beds are wanting, but in southwestern Oldham they occur and increase 
in thickness toward the west and the Cretaceous, until at Tucumcari 
mountains they reach a thickness of three hundred feet. South of the 
Cretaceous area near Tucumcari mountains they soon disappear, and 
likely do not occur anywhere down the west part of the Dockum beds 
unless at the Castle mountains. 

* The sections on this plate show the relations of the Triassic to the overlying 
and underlying beds at the following localities: 

1. Signal Mount, Howard county. ?. Four miles southwest of Iatan. 3. Half 
mile south of Iatan, Mitchell county. 4. Muchakooyo Peak, Borden county. 
5. Three miles south of Double Mountain Fork of Brazos river, Borden county. 
6. Two miles north of Double Mountain Fork of Brazos river, Garza county. 
7, Four miles northeast of Dockum, on Duck creek. 8. Devil’s creek, Dickens 
county. 9. Head of Jones creek. 10. Southwest corner Armstrong county, in 
Palo Duro canyon. 11. Three miles northwest of Amarillo. 12. Thirty miles 
south, 60 degrees east, from Big Tucumcari Mount. 13. Head of. East Fossil 
creek. 14. Big Tucumcari Mount. 15. Fifteen miles southwest of Big Tucum- 
cari Mount. 


234 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


DIP OF THE FORMATION. 


The approximate average dip of the Triassic beds is to the southeast, 


and about eight feet per mile. In some localities there is almost no - 


dip, and some places show a dip to the northwest or north, but this is 
rare. ‘The greatest dip is in the northern and northwestern part, and 
in Potter and Oldham counties it increases to fifteen or eighteen feet 
per mile, in some places even more. ‘The western part also seems to 
have a greater dip in places, and a little more toward the south. 


SPRINGS. 


There are comparatively few springs on the north and west sides of 
the Triassic escarpment at the base of the Staked Plains, while on the 


east side they are abundant. Most of them come from the north and . 


west sides of the ravines and canyons which extend back into or through 
the Triassic strata. These facts are explained by the dip and character 
of the Dockum beds and the character of the overlying and underlying 
beds. ‘The Permian and lower beds of the Triassic are mostly imperv- 
ious clays, so that the waters from rains and snows percolate down 
through the porous overlying Tertiary to the Triassic sandstones and 
conglomerate, through which the water runs down to an opening on 
the lower side. 

That springs are not abundant in the southeastern part of the Triassic 
beds is doubtless due to the sandstone and conglomerate being thinner 
and probably not continuous, and to the more horizontal position of the 
beds. From Crosby county to the center of the eastern part of Arm- 
strong county springs are very abundant. This belt embraces the out- 
cropping Triassic area which contains the thickest beds of sandstone 
and conglomerate, and over this area there is no doubt as to the con- 
tinuity of these strata. 

DEPOSITION. 


The fossils and characteristic material of these beds: show that they were 
deposited in an inland fresh water basin. The vertebrate fossils, as 
determined by Professor EH. D. Cope, were shallow water animals. 
The Unios found were also shallow fresh-water species. The drift 
material of the conglomerates, the alternating and changeable layers 
of sandstone, grit, and clayey sand all show a record of shore or near 
shore deposits. The dip of the layers of the false-bedding of the sand- 
stones and conglomerates is generally towards the northwest, but often 
towards the north or west, which indicates that the shore-line of these 
deposits was to the south and east with the center of the inland basin 
to the northwest. The thickening of the formation toward the north- 
west also points tosuchaconclusion. ‘The indications are, however, that 
the beginning and close of the Dockum beds period, when the finer 
and more uniform sediment of sandy clays, or clayey sands, was de- 
posited, was an era of somewhat deeper and less turbulent waters. 


stag a 


STRATIGRAPHY. 250 


LOCAL DEVELOPMENT. 


The first of the Dockum beds studied in the past season were at and 
in the vicinity of Iatan, Mitchell county, and the adjoining eastern 
part of Howard county, along the breaks of Giraud, Wild Horse and 
Morgan creeks. The upper parts of the beds, with a cap of Tertiary 
Strata, form an escarpment about one hundred feet high to the south- 
west and northwest of Iatan, extending to within half a mile of Iatan to 
the south, and receding toward the northwest. 


Just south of Iatan the escarpment shows the following section, No. 
3, Plate V. 


1. Tertiary deposits of sand, siliceous pebbles, and calcareous hard- 


SE OEE a Re ROR ae gC ee APA tia a aa 15 feet. 
See tesreddedimicaccousgrittl oh ie A oT ene 12 to 14 feet. 
Meer rerrarcnnceOnSsiclay cs) Mere kL 25 feet. 
Bees y aicaceous sandstone andiprit . . 6. ee ew eek 6 feet. 
5. Chocolate colored clay, slightly arenaceous 


PNA gen Patek an eee a 40 feet. 


The clays of the Triassic beds, wherever seen near Iatan, have the 
same general characteristics, such as chocolate color; scattering small 
scales of white mica, slightly to highly arenaceous; and scattering small 


spots of bluish sandy clay, which sometimes form thin layers and con- 


tains pieces of shaly sandstone. ‘he sandstones vary somewhat at differ- 
ent places comparatively near each other. In the above section, No. 4 is 
false-bedded, and is so full of mica that the rock is very fissile. Fol- 
lowing this stratum along the outcrop westward, it is found to lose this 
character to a large extent, and becomes a somewhat shaly sandstone 
with only a small quantity of mica. Near Iatan the upper part of 
this stratum is.composed of coarse sand and scattering small sandstone 
pebbles, and bluish argillaceous spots and specks are quite common 
through the rock. ‘The mica in the sandstones and clays varies in size 
from mere specks to flakes one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and is 
nearly all white, only a few scattering black pieces occurring. No. 2 
of the above section, or the upper sandstone and grit stratum, also 
changes considerably, as is shown along its outcrops towards the north- 
west and southwest. At Iatan this stratum is a massive, highly mica- 
ceous, friable grit, showing here and there many wavy lines of false- 
bedding, and contains some nodules of ferruginous sand one or two 
inches in diameter. Following the outcrop of this stratum one anda 
half miles along the escarpment to the northwest, it disappears, and 
the Tertiary formation rests on the lower strata of the Dockum beds, 
but going a short distance along the escarpment, the stratum appears 


‘again, and is a more even, fine grained rock, and reaching almost twice 


the thickness it has at Iatan. Some of the smooth, evenly textured, 
white sandstone layers are seven or eight feet thick, but are friable, 
there being but few layers which could be used for building purposes. 

In the breaks of Giraud creek, three or four miles southwest of 


236 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


Tatan, the T'riassic rocks are well exposed and vary but little froin the 
section at Iatan, except that the lower sandstone stratum contains very 
little mica and is more uniformly white and massive; still it is some- 
what shaly at places and always false-bedded. At this place about 
twenty feet of the red clay belonging to the Dockum beds rest on the 
upper sandstone stratum. Near the top of this red clay there are a few 
thin layers of bluish clay and sand. At this locality, which is at and 
southeast of the water tank of the Texas and Pacific Railway, the 
beds show a well-marked dip to the northwest for more than a mile, 
and the red clays, with a few interstratified sandstone layers, seem to 
thicken slightly to the west or southwest where the Tertiary strata 
overlays them. ‘There is here an area of one and one-half or two miles 
square from which erosion has removed the Tertiary strata, and also 
the Dockum beds, down to the sandstone stratum. At Signal Peak, 
which is about fourteen miles southwest of Iatan, or fifteen miles 
southeast of Big Springs, Howard county, the Dockum beds are cov- 
ered with nearly two hundred feet of Cretaceous strata, and conse- 
quently show a higher horizon of the Triassic beds. The lowest 
Triassic strata seen there consist of more than eighty feet of dark red 
arenaceous clays, which contain some shaly sandstone near the top. 
Bluish spots and specks occur throughout this stratum. Above this 
clay, and at the top of the Triassic, there is twenty-five feet of sand- 
stones varying from massive to false-bedded and shaly, and from a 
friable white rock to a moderately hard red or nearly white stone. 
Small flakes and specks of mica are scattered through all the 
strata. These sandy clays and some sandstones occur along the 
entire base of the Cretaceous escarpment to Big Springs, Howard 
county, and some outcrops occur west of Big Springs. Southeast of 
Signal Peak, on either side of Giraud creek, the Triassic beds occur 
in the valley, and small outcrops along the breaks of the creek. About 


two miles east of Marienfeld is an escarpment about fifty feet high, | 


which for several miles runs approximately north and south. The 
north part becomes lower and lower till it is lost in the plains, and 
the south part bends eastward to meet the Cretaceous escarpment 
which extends westward from Big Springs. The top part of this es- 
carpment is Tertiary, and rests on about ten feet of Triassic sandstone, 
which contains siliceous pebbles in such numbers as to make the rock 
a conglomerate in places. ‘Ihe mass of this rock is made up of white 
sand with an occasional red grain, all of which are rather coarse and 
almost make the rock a grit. ‘The stratum is friable, and in places is 
slightly false-bedded, but has regular layers and is not a uniform mass 
of compact sand. Below this stratum is twenty-five or thirty feet of 
red sandy clay interstratified with some red shaly sandstone. ‘These 
rocks have a considerable outcrop toward the southeast, but soon dis- 


STRATIGRAPHY. BY) 


appear toward the north as the escarpment becomes lower and less 
abrupt. 

Strata belonging to the Dockum beds occur along the escarpment of 
the Staked Plains northward from Iatan, but the escarpment along 
Wild Horse and Morgan creeks consists principally of the Tertiary 
strata. ‘The Dockum beds are better exposed in the rolling country 
just east of the escarpment. About four miles north of the head of 
Morgan creek, the escarpment, or sharply rojling land, extends west- 
ward up the south side of the Colorado river valley, and consists of the 
red arenaceous clay and red micaceous sandstone of the ‘Triassic. 
Further to the west, or just west of the Big Springs and Gail road, 
Tertiary strata again overlie the Dockum beds. ‘Three-fourths of a 
mile north of the Colorado river, and about that distance east of the 
Big Springs and Gail road, the following section was made, beginning 
at the top: 

I. Sandstone, mostly white, varying from massive to shaly, friable and 
slightly micaceous, the upper part graduating toagrit. ..... + feet. 
PC ACE WILE GANIC Ba Pee eee ea dg ge ead AP eety 
3. White argillaceous slightly selenitic sand, which rapidly graduates 
into the red arenaceous clay below ee SO tetas Caan a ee 

The rolling country, for several miles west, north and northeast, 
often shows freshly eroded Dockum beds sandstone and red sandy 
clays. At Muchakooyo Peak, about four milessoutheast of Gail, Borden 
county, and in the escarpment southwest and west, and northwest of 
Gail, the Dockum beds are overlaid by nearly one hundred feet of 
Cretaceous strata. The Muchakooyo Peak section, No. 4 of cut on 
Plate V, beginning at the top, is as follows: 


ieee bettiary beds {mottled limestone)... 2.405 we re. 5 feet. 
BUCO US MIIOSLONG pilot Sits. we ah jd Ae bad oes 65 feet. 
I UOT EAs rs rete ook ek te (ee eae whe 20 feet. 
moat red clay (top of the Dockum beds)... 20%... sae. 40) feet. 
5. _ Massive to shaly, friable white to reddish sandstone. ... . 5 to 6 feet. 
Tee era hie hig ha ie ws ae he iy ah Mite Dram en 45 feet. 
IRR eaR TTC A Wares Pod eh i LB a ace thet. Seeteeee cats 4 feet. 
8. Sandstone, varying from white to gray. In some places the 

rock is a conglomerate of siliceous pebbles and coarse sand, 

and in placesit contains small pieces of indurated argillaceous 

Bee a VOMUSH UAE Hg LN hugs) oie as het bua Ragen duo av eMeatn Ce” 5 feet. 
9. White compact sand, containing clay, mica and siliceous peb- 

SDMA ameter RANEY Voyne do 2. a) Ay de Pe Lie heh eset ae ten waits 5 feet. 


10.. Red clay, with bands and streaks of blueclay. ....... 


The base of the buttes and escarpments near Gail show the same 
character of strata as the above section, with a slight variation in the 
Dockum beds sandstone, which are there somewhat more shaly and 
not so coarse grained, and have a more reddish color. Most of the 
Dockum beds that can be seen, however, is the red sandy clay. 


238 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST. TEXAS. 


Twelve or thirteen miles about north-northwest from Gail the Creta- 
ceous strata in the escarpment end, and the Tertiary strata rest on the 
Dockum beds. 

In the northeast corner of Borden county and pares of the adjoining 
counties, there is a mesa which is principally composed of Cretaceous 
rocks. 

About three miles south of the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos 
river the following section was made of the northwest side of the above 
mesa. Section No. 5 of Plate V: 


1. Mottled limestone (Tertiary) 


eae WR 3 feet 
2. Cretaceous strata. 24.0. ADS VSR ae cn 60 feet. 
3. Red sandy clay, jatersteaeaeel with a great many thin ‘ghey layers of 

red or blue sandstone and a few thin layers of blue sandy clay . . 90 feet. 
4, 


Sandstone, white, varying from massive to shaly, and from a coarse 
grained to a grit and even a conglomerate. Small pieces of bluish 


clay and pieces of indurated white clayey sandstone are scattered 
through this stratum #).2) 200s) 2 fe eae of 4,2 pee 


Dark red sandy clay, contains a very few thin short veins of selenite 
and thin layers.of shaly sandstone =. @\s2)%.) suey 0) ee 60 feet. 


Small pieces of mica occur all through the Dockum beds of this sec- 
tion. For three or four miles west of this section erosion has laid bare 
a great deal of the red sandy clay and shaly sandstones of the Dockum 
beds, and possibly has extended down into the Permian strata, as some 
of the lower rocks exposed contain salt. Just north of the river, oppo- 
site the above section, the escarpment and buttes are capped with 
Tertiary strata, and a lower horizon of the Dockum beds is: shown. 


Probably half of the following strata of Dockum beds are of a lower 


horizon than the above section.. See No. 6 of Plate V. 


1. Tertiary beds. 2%, : .,\ [sae ce eet ets tk 75 feet. 
2. Blue clay, containing a Waites inch layer of ferruginous conglom- 

CTAte . ie 8 ee 3 feet 
3. Red sandy micaceous clay, with an occasional thin short seam or 

vein of selenite; also a little red shaly sandstone... ...... 170 feet. 
4. Massive false-bedded conglomeritic sandstone, varying in color from 

white or gray to red..», £:°% 8s Leen ne eto, 10 feet. 
5. Red sandy clay, with a little blue gypseous sandy clay at the top. . 40 feet. 
6. 


False-bedded conglomeritic sandstone and argillaceous sandstone, 
containing many Unzo fossils. . 
Red sandy clay 


~J 


ee ee) le Ne) 0 fe MNEs 6 hs) Te rele wus a oe... eb) wie a, A ee Re 


No. 4 of the above section contains a few siliceous pebbles, but yellow- 
ish brown and greenish sandstone pebbles make most of the conglom- 
eritic nature of the rock. Small pieces of indurated sandy clay are also 
found in it. The mass of this bed is rather coarse white sand, and 
sometimes is free from pebbles. The country lying just east of this 
section or escarpment is exceedingly broken. Deep gulches wind their 
way toward the river through these sandstones and sandy clays, leaving 


STRATIGRAPHY. 939 


the sandstones projecting as benches and the sandy clays carved into 
steep banks or rolling surfaces. 

The white friable sandstones are quite characteristic in the Dockum 
beds through Garza county. Most of these are represented by No. 4 
of the above section. This stratum is also quite uniform and persistent 
in its characteristics, and for fifteen or twenty miles northward from the 
Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos river it forms a marked topograph- 
ical feature. Along its outcrops and escarpments, near Yellow House 
Canyon creek, masses of ferrtginous sandstone concretions eight to ten 
inches in diameter occur scattered through it. 

Near the north side of Garza county the siliceous conglomerate be- 
comes more characteristic of the Dockum beds, and along the banks of 
the Salt Fork of the Brazos, south and southwest of Dockum, this sili- 
ceous conglomerate appears in beds twenty to thirty feet thick. Often 
the larger part of the rock mass is composed of siliceous pebbles, and 
part of the rock is almost a solid mass of them. | 

From just north of the northeast corner of Borden county the Ter- 
tiary escarpment recedes westward and northwest until it passes Yellow 
House canyon and the Salt Fork of the Brazos, then comes back north- 
easterly to the southeast part of Crosby county. Within this area, and 
to the east of it, the Dockum beds spread out to a considerable extent, 
but they are much covered and hidden by sand beds from the denuded 
Tertiary deposits above. The following section was made on Mac- 
Donald’s creek, about one and one-half miles below the most eastern 
escarpment of the Plains: 


1. Massive cross-bedded coarse grained sandstone, the lower part con- 
pm Granny Si lICeOUs PEOUDIES. oo oh el ea le BEG as 20 feet. 


Seeeeovercd with detritus:from: No. bi 4 ok ek ce ee 10 feet. 
3. Conglomerate of siliceous pebbles and brownish sandstone pebbles. 
Unio fossils are common in this UOC S eet ela are Rete Sofie FU 1 foot. 
Mee esate acepiis Saud is ke ce ee ig ne ee ye a aS 10 feet. 
5. White false bedded sandstone, with conglomerate and Uzo fossils at 
MMSE Meer eee ee Sp)", 0S fe la eso vs gle ee aT ape aweke Sp oirys 5 feet. 
GSES S203 gl Sie ele ag a ee = cal ede Re aa 5 feet 


The Dockum beds, wherever seen in eastern Crosby county or west- | 
ern Dickens county, always showed false-bedded micaceous sandstones, 
siliceous conglomerates, red sandy clays and bluish sandy clay. The 
siliceous conglomerates are well exposed in White river at and below 


the falls, near the windmill north of Dockum, and at Duck creek west 


of Espuela, and are false-bedded, the layers dipping to the southwest 
and west. ‘The amount of sand or grit in the conglomerate varies, but 
the siliceous pebbles are the most prominent feature of the mass, and 
often compose most of the bed, and it is overlaid by about twenty-five 
to seventy-five feet of red sandy clay, sometimes containing vertebrate 
and Unio fossils. Bluish clay also occurs at many places in this stra- 


240 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


tum, sometimes also containing vertebrate fossils. This twenty-five to 
seventy-five feet of clay ‘is in turn overlaid by from five to forty feet of 
white sandstone, false-bedded in places, and conglomeritic in places, 
although this latter feature is rather uncommon. Some of the bed is 
a grit, and small pieces of bluish and yellowish brown indurated arena- 
ceous clay are often scattered through it. Small flakes of mica also 
occur in it very abundantly at places, and the Unio fossils are found 
near the base. ‘These Unios are very abundant at this horizon at the 
head of Duck creek. Pieces of lignite and pieces of silicified* wood 
are frequently imbedded in the sandstones or conglomerates. Fifty or 
sixty feet of sandy clay, often interstratified with thin layers of sand- 
stone, lie under the lower conglomerate mentioned above. About a 
mile southeast of the Espuela Headquarters ranch the most of this 
basal Dockum beds horizon occurs. 

The characteristics of the Dockum beds in Dickens county continue, 
with minor variations, into the southwest part of Motley county. In 
the latter county, along the headwaters of the Wichita and Pease 
rivers, the lowest siliceous conglomerate is underlaid by a red compact 
and often quite firm sand, containing a very small amount of clay. At 
the above localities a massive Quaternary conglomerate often overlays 
the Dockum beds. ‘This conglomerate may be distinguished from the 
‘Triassic by its containing Cretaceous fossils, coarser pebbles, and some 
different kinds of pebbles, and by being less compact. ‘The matrix of 
the ‘Triassic conglomerate is usually slightly calcareous. ‘The sand- 
stones and conglomerates thicken quite rapidly toward the northern 
part of Motley county, where they reach about one hundred feet in 
thickness. On Jones creek this bed and part of the lower beds are 
beautifully exposed. "The Central beds are there a white micaceous 
conglomeritic sandstone, the larger part of which is false-bedded, the 
layers dipping westward and northwest, and sometimes north. Nearly 
all of this bed contains some siliceous pebbles, which are small and ~ 
well rounded, and about one-half of the bed contains a great many of 
them. Little rounded pieces of hard brownish or dove colored sandy 
clay stone are also quite common. ‘This rock is generally too soft for 
building purposes, yet occasional layers may be found firm enough to 
be of value as a building stone. ‘The lower beds of the Dockum beds 
here are a dark red sandy clay containing at the top several alternating 
layers, one to two inches thick, of red friable sandstone. layers of 
false-bedded reddish sandstone, two to three feet thick, occur every 
eight or ten feet from the top of this bed down thirty or forty feet, 
where the bed becomes more argillaceous and has fewer sandstone lay- 
ers. ‘The false-bedding layers dip to the northwest. 

There is very little change in the Dockum beds northwards to the 


* For the occurrence of silicified wood in the Dockum beds in Dickens county, 
see Second Aunual Report, page 427. 


-e s 


STRATIGRAPHY. 241 


southeast corner of Briscoe county, except a slight increase in thick- 
ness of the sandstones and conglomerates, and a decrease of the num- 
ber of the siliceous pebbles in the conglomerates. At Holmes creek, 
in the southeast corner of Briscoe county, the sandstone and conglom- 
erate bed is over a hundred feet thick, and is mostly a massive even- 
textured white sandstone. Very few siliceous pebbles are in the con- 
glomeritic rocks. ‘The lower beds cf the Dockum beds here are a dark 
and red argillaceous sand with some layers of red sandstone, with a 
little bright yellow clay containing nodules of crystalline calcite near 
the top. 

The numerous branches of Prairie Dog Town Fork of Red River in 
Briscoe county have worn the eastern limit of the Tertiary and Dockum 
beds westward, so that in our line of work northward we did not reach 
these beds again till we got to Goodnight, Armstrong county. Near 
the mouth of Mulberry canyon, three or four miles southwest of Good- 
night, all of the Dockum beds are worn away except about forty feet 
of the lower beds of sandy clay, or at this place clayey sands. The 
increasing thickness toward the north and northwest of the sandstones 
and conglomerates, as indicated in Motley county and southeastern 
Briscoe county, continues on to Palo Duro canyon, Armstrong county, 
where it reaches a thickness of two hundred and twenty-five feet. 
From the falls in Palo Duro canyon, south of Amarillo, to the mouth 
of the canyon, there are but two principal beds of the Dockum beds, 
although local variations of alternating sandstones, conglomerates and 
sandy clays, occur at different places. Usually over two hundred feet 
of the upper part of the Triassic is sandstone and conglomerate, while 
over a hundred feet at the base of the formation is clay slightly arena- 
ceous. 

The contact between the Dockum beds and the underlying Permian 
is clearly marked. Both the color and lithological characteristics of 
the two formations bear a striking contrast. The Permian is a bright 
red argillaceous sand, slightly shaly, though sometimes massive, is 
characteristic for stratification planes, and below the top forty feet is 
interstratified with massive and fibrous gypsum, the gypsum becoming 
more abundant toward the base of the section exposed. The Dockum 
beds, arenaceous clays, in contact are a yellowish purple or a yellowish 
red, sometimes decidedly yellowish. ‘The bedding is usually uniform 
and lacks the stratification planes so characteristic of the Permian. The 
contrast between the formations along their contact is so great that the 
contact may be located as far as the eye can see stratification planes in 
the freshly eroded outcropping bed, or as far as it can distinguish 
sharply contrasting colors. 

The top part of the Dockum beds down the canyon is white sand- 
stone, generally cross-bedded and conglomeritic. It is occasionally 
interstratified with thin layers of bluish clay, or more rarely with a 


242 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


thicker layer of red sandy clay, such as is at the base of the bed, ex- 
cept that it is more sandy. ‘The sandstones and conglomerate contain 
small flakes of mica. Fossil reptilian teeth, bones, and coprolites fre- 
quently occur in the conglomerate, but siliceous pebbles are extremely 
rare. The conglomerates are made of a matrix of sand with varying 
proportions of crystaline calcite and pebbles of sandstone, or clayey 
sandstone, varying in color from white or gray to dark shades of 
brown. Small pieces of reddish sandstone also occur in them. The 
cross-bedding layers dip to the west or northwest. Some of the con- 
glomerate is firm enough for building purposes, especially where it 
contains considerable lime. The massive sandstones are, however, too 
soft to stand much pressure or resistance to weathering. Pieces of 
lignite and fossil wood occasionally occur in the sandstone and con- 
glomerate. 

The relative amount of sandstone, conglomerate and clay varies at 
different localities down the canyon. ‘The conglomerate predominates 
on Rush creek, clay on Happy creek, and even-grained sandstone on 
Pleasant creek. On Home creek and Pleasant creek the thickness of 
the sandstone and conglomerate stratum is about two hundred feet, on 
Happy creek and Rush creek it is about two hundred and twenty-five 
feet, but the total thickness of the Dockum beds at all these places is 
approximately the same. The sandstone and conglomerate beds in 
Randall county, just below the falls in Palo Duro canyon, are about 
one hundred feet thick. Some of the top layers of these beds form the 
falls. At this locality the sandstones and conglomerate are about 
equally divided in amount and bear the same characteristics as the 
same bed down the canyon in Armstrong county. About three miles 
down the canyon from the falls the following section is made. See 
section No. 11 of Plate V: 


1. “Tertiary strata |-) (2.0 aber igi eee tae oe Cig ee ae 75 feet. 
2. Conglomerate and friable evenly textured sandstone. ....... 100 feet. 
3. Sandy clay, red, purple, yellowish, sometimes blue. ....... 80 feet. ° 
4. Yellow clay and calcite: modnless a.) mental on ee 5 feet 
b, > med sandy clay): 3. ween oP pat tae ets Ga i cikee lh ee en hn 


No. 4 of the above section is a mass of crystaline calcite and bright 
yellow clay, the clay usually being greater in amount. Thin seams 
of crystaline calcite intersect this stratum in every direction, and cal- 
careous nodules with centers of crystaline calcite are quite common 
scattered throughout the stratum. The stratum of yellow clay and | 
crystalline calcite nodules in southeastern Briscoe county, on Holmes 
creek, is probably the same horizon as stratum No. 4 of the above sec- 
tion. As will be seen further along this stratum occurs north and 
northwest of Amarillo. 


The sandstone and conglomerate bed so finely developed in Palo Duro 


STRATIGRAPHY. 7 2 


canyon was almost worn away eighteen or twenty miles to the north, 
before being covered up by the Tertiary beds. 

The northern escarpment of the Staked Plains extends westward 
through Potter county, passing about three miles north of Amarillo, 
where eight or ten feet of the Tertiary strata overlays the Dockum 
beds, and the central beds of the sandstone and conglomerate is only 
about fifteen feet thick. This conglomeritic sandstone contains con- 
siderable lime and makes,an excellent building stone. It is firm and 
tough, has a uniform composition, and dresses well. It is largely 
quarried and used for building purposes in and near Amarillo. In the 
bed of West Amarillo creek, about four miles northwest of Amarillo, 
the same stratum of bright yellow clay and crystaline calcite nodules 
occurs as seen in Palo Duro canyon three miles below the falls. 

On West Amarillo creek there is about one hundred and thirty feet of 
red sandy clay between the Palo Duro of the central beds and the yel- 
low clayey stratum. ‘The central beds increase in thickness westwards 
from West Amarillo creek, but the sandstones and conglomerates are 
interstratified with red and purple clay. 

In tiie eastern part of Oldham county the yellowish clay and calcite 
stratum is still a conspicuous horizon, and has about the same thickness 
as in Palo Duro canycn. ‘The central beds are there twenty-five or 
thirty feet thick, and are mostly white massive sandstone. Red clay in- 
terstratified with a little shaly sandstone occurs at the top of the Dockum 
beds, and is Ruane the lower part of the upper bed as seen aN se 
west. 

In the central part of Oldham county a branch has cut its way back. 
several miles into the Tertiary, and worn down through the upper 
horizon of the Triassic false-bedded sandstone and conglomerate, and 
part:of the lower red sandy clay. ‘The false-bedding, the small mica 
flakes, and all the characteristic features of the Dockum beds, except 
the siliceous conglomerate, are there represented. 

The next place we saw the Dockum beds was where the old govern- 
ment or Santa Fe trail goes down off the Plains at the head of Rocky 
Dell creek, in the southwestern part of Oldham county. The red arena- 
ceous clay predominates there, but the central beds are represented by 
at least twenty-five feet of false-bedded micaceous white sandstone, 
some of the massive sandstone layers of which are five or six feet thick. 
This bed has also red calcareous false-bedded conglomeritic sandstone. 
Layers of the false-bedding dip to the west or a little south of west. 
The bedding contacts between the sandstones and conglomeritic layers 
often present very wavy planes. About one hundred feet of red sandy 
clay lies between the above bed and the overlying Tertiary strata, and 
more than one hundred feet of red sandy clay lies below the sandstone 
bed. The exact line of contact between the Dockum beds and the 
Permian is not clearly marked in Rocky Dell creek. 


244 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


The principal change to the westward in the rocks of the Dockum 
beds, as seen along the foot of the Staked Plains for twenty-five or , 
thirty miles into New Mexico, is that the clays become more sandy and 
the white sandstone and conglomerate gets a little thinner, but retains 
the same characteristics. Pieces of lignite, silicified wood, and reptil- 
ian bones are still sparsely scattered through the conglomerates and 
sandstone. 

About thirty miles south 75 degrees east from Big Tucumcari moun- 
tain the Dockum beds are overlaid by Cretaceous strata, and the upper 
beds are much thicker than further east, and show some change in that 
they are interstratified with thin layers of red and white sandstone, 
the layers of sandstone becoming somewhat thicker lower in the form- 
ation. ‘The clays are often highly arenaceous, dark red, bluish white, 
and in some places a light red. At the foot of the Plains, about twenty 
miles southeast of Big Tucumcari mountain, or at the head of East 
Fossil creek, there is over one hundred feet of the upper bed shown in 
the base of the escarpment. This is red clay, slightly shaly in places, 
and more or less sandy throughout, interspersed with thin layers of 
blue and purple clay. Layers of sandstone, from one inch to three 
feet in thickness, are also sparsely distributed through the section. 
The sandstone is generally white or bluish, but some of the thin layers 
are red, or red with blue spots. ; 

Down East Fossil creek, about two miles from the escarpment, and . 
over two hundred feet below the top of the Dockum beds, the white 
sandstone and false-bedded conglomeritic beds are worn through by 
the creek. These beds are about twenty-five feet thick and rest on 
red sandy clay as usual. 

At Big Tucumcari mountain only the upper beds can be seen, and 
the lower forty or fifty feet of them is hidden in the rolling country. 
around the mountain. But the part visible in section is beautifully 
shown to the base of the mountain, especially on the north side of it. 
These upper beds contain three different beds. The top one, overlaid 
by Cretaceous sandstone, is the chocolate colored sandstone, about 
twenty feet thick. It is rather hard and brittle, and breaks and weathers 
with a conchoidal fracture. The layers composing this bed vary in 
thickness from massive layers of five feet to layers of three inches. 
Thin layers of sandy clay are interstratified through the center of this 
bed, and five or six feet from the base there are two six-inch layers of 
conglomerate, with white and colored, small, well rounded siliceous 
pebbles in a matrix of sand. ‘The next bed below is eighty feet of 
highly arenaceous clay, its color varying from chocolate to purple, with 
streaks and spots of bluish and greenish white scattered through the 
base, and forming almost regular bands or layers near and at the top, 
but the structure throughout is massive and uniform. ‘The third bed 
below consists of about two hundred feet of chocolate colored clay, 


ine wr 


STRATIGRAPHY. 945 


only slightly arenaceous, uniform in structure, and without planes of 
stratification. 

All three of these beds graduate into each other, and the exact line 
of division given is merely arbitrary. "These upper beds may be seen 
well exposed in the bases of the peaks, buttes, and escarpments for 
miles around Tucumcari mountains. 

The escarpment of the north side of Pijarro creek northwest of Big 
Tucumcari mountain does not show so much of these beds as the es- 
carpment in other directions from the mountains. 

About fifteen miles south 80 degrees west from Big Tucumcari moun- 
tain the base of a butte shows about two hundred and eighty feet of 
the upper beds. (Section No. 15, Plate V.) ‘This section has the same 
beds as the Tucumcari section, but the upper two are much less marked, 
and together are only about forty feet thick. All of the section, how- 
ever, has more sand than it has at Tucumcari mountain, and even the 
basal part has thin layers of shaly sandstone. About two miles south 
of this butte, and forty or fifty feet below the above section, in the 
banks of a branch of Fossil creek, is exposed ten or twelve feet of the 
white micaceous sandstone of the central beds. ‘This sandstone is 
shown all along Fossil creek and its branches southeast of Big Tucum- 
cari mountain, and in a number of places in the creek banks between 
the main Fossil creek and East Fossil creek. 

The escarpment of the Staked Plains just south of the. Tucumcari 
mountains has no Cretaceous strata, and the Tertiary beds again over- 
lie the Dockum beds, and the upper beds again show the effects of 
greater erosion by the thinness of the part remaining. 

About thirty-five miles southwest of Tucumcari mountains, at the 
western escarpment of the Staked Plains, the central and the lower beds 
are spread out over a considerable area, but only the central beds are 
well shown in the face of the escarpment and the eroded banks of the 
adjacent ravines. Alternating layers of red sandy clays are associated 
with the sandstones and conglomerates. ‘The sandstone layers are the 
white friable micaceous rocks so characteristic of these beds. The con- 


_ glomerates have no siliceous pebbles, and the sandstone pebbles are 


small sub-angular fragments as usual. The rolling country from the 
above escarpment to the Pecos river is gentle, with but few places of 
exposed strata, and the exact line of contact between the Dockum beds 
and the Permian cannot now be given. ‘The formation along the Pecos 
river about Fort Sumner is shown to be the Permian from the gypseous 
character of the strata; but this Permian belt, worn into by the river, 
is but a few miles wide, and the Dockum beds strata extend down the 
river on either side. Going south from Fort Sumner, soon after cross- 
ing the river to the west side, a slightly higher elevation is reached, 
which continues southward in an almost level plain for sixteen or 
eighteen miles, and there is no good exposure of the strata till Coyote 


246 TRIASSIC FORMATION OF NORTHWEST TEXAS. 


creek is reached, which is twelve miles south of Fort Sumner. Strata | 


of the central beds are beautifully exposed along the banks of this 
creek, and have about the same relative proportions of sandstone, con- 
glomerate and clays as along the western escarpment of the Staked 
Plains north of Fort Sumner, but there is probably a little more con- 
glomerate in the section. A Quaternary conglomerate lies on the top 
of the Dockum beds along Coyote creek. 

After going four or five miles further south we pass down off the 
Dockum beds on to the Permian, and on our line of travel southward 
we saw no more of the Dockum beds west of the Pecos river. We 
next crossed to the east side of the river and examined the western es- 
carpment of the Plains, opposite Eddy, New Mexico. 


East of Eddy there are two escarpments of the Plains. The western ~ 


one was examined about fifteen miles northeast of Hddy, near the Clay- 
ton wells. At that point forty or fifty feet of argillaceous red sand 
lies between the gypsum and Tertiary beds, as is shown in the section 
from Eddy east to the top of the Plains. Ripple marked flakes 
of sandstone and bluish specks and spots are scattered throughout this 
strata. From its position and general characteristic there can be but 
little doubt that it is the base of the Dockum beds. 

Twelve or fifteen miles further east, at a higher elevation, between 
the two escarpments, a salt lake basin extends down through the Ter- 
tiary into the central beds of the Triassic. The strata in the west bank 
and bottom of the lake were red sandy clay, bluish sandstone, red shalv 
sandstone, and a false-bedded calcareous sandstone slightly conglom- 
eritic. The false-bedding dips to the north, and the conglomeritic 
nature of the rocks is due to small pieces of yellowish and brownish 
indurated clayey sandstone. 

The above strata extends about twenty feet above the bottom of the 
ake, at the west end, but are not to be seen on the northeast side. The 
conglomeritic false-bedded horizon forms the bottom of the lake on the 
west side, but its thickness could not be determined. ‘The mica flakes 
are not very abundant, and are usually very small, but all the strata 
contains some of them. ‘The continuation of the escarpment from 
Clayton wells extends down near the river east and southeast of Look- 
out, New Mexico. This escarpment, east of the mouth Black river, 
has forty or fifty feet of red sandy clay with variations of yellowish 
and bluish clay. Five or six miles further south, this escarpment 
shows over fifty feet of this material and the entire thickness is proba- 
bly over seventy-five feet. 

About thirty miles east of the mouth of Black river, near the Nash 
ranch, and at the Cowan ranch, the wells are in the Triassic most 
of their depth. About five miles east of the Cowan ranch a well was 
sunk one hundred and forty feet and afforded very little water. After 
passing through a few feet of Tertiary strata on top, bluish sandstone, 


ee i 


° iz 


STRATIGRAPHY. 247 


clay and conglomeritic sandstone were passed through. ‘The sandstones 
were the white, even-textured, friable and slightly micaceous sandstones 
so common in the ‘Triassic. 

The wells at the Cowan ranch are in a basin where the Tertiary beds 
are gone. ‘These wells are about forty feet deep and afford plenty of 
water. The rock passed through in digging them is a conglomerate of 
clayey sandstone fragments in a matrix of clayey sand and crystaline 
gypsum. The gypsum is regularly distributed through the conglom- 
erate, and varies somewhat in amount in the different strata passed 
through. ‘The rocks have a bluish color when freshly exposed. Small 
flakes of mica are quite common in the sandstones at these wells. 

Our work from Black river south, being on the west side of the river 
down to Pecos City, we saw no more of the western escarpment of the 
Plains till we reached the east side of the river opposite Pecos. ‘The 
escarpment or sharply rolling land of the western limit of the Plains 
extends down by Quito on the Texas and Pacific Railway, and gradually 
gets nearer the river southward till only a narrow belt of level land is 
between it and the river. 

Usually but eight or ten feet of entiary strata caps this escarpment, 
and about the same amount of red sandy and slightly gypsiferous clay 
forms the base. At Quito the basal part is composed of two massive 
red sandstone layers, each three or four feet thick, with some thinner 
layers of sandstone and sandy clay between and below them. ‘These 
sandstone strata extend about sixteen miles southward, gradually get- 
ting lower till they pass under the base of the escarpment. ‘They are 
quarried to a considerable extent near Quito, and shipped to distant 
points over the State for building purposes. 

The probability of these being Triassic strata and their position in that 
formation has already been given. 

At Castle mountain the Cretaceous is underlaid by red sandstone, 
conglomeritic sandstone and red clays of the Dockum beds. There is 
about thirty feet of this material exposed, and most of this is a red 
conglomeritic sandstone containing small pieces of calcareous clay, and 
sandstone of yellowish and brown colors; also pieces of reddish brown 
sandstone and calcite crystals. At the center of this thirty feet is red 
shaly sandstone and red marly clay. The shaly rock contains mica 
flakes. ‘The outcrop of these beds is on the west side of the mountain 
and escarpment. ‘The Cretaceous detritus hides them from view to the 
southward, leaving only a small area on the northwest side of the moun- 
tain where I'riassic strata can be seen. 


, 


REPORT 


ON. 


“ 5 


PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA. 


be. AEN 7 { 
> ‘ c 


i 


BY 


: 


oo 


eee! D-OOPE. 


i 


i ot okt 


REPORT 


PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA. 


Byer Bo T. CORPR, 


I, FAYETTE FORMATION. 


In the First Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Texas (p. 
47), Mr. R. A. F. Penrose, Jr., describes this formation as it occurs in 
south and east Texas. He places it at the summit of the Tertiary 
series and below the ‘‘Post-tertiary;’’ that is, at the summit of the 
Neocene, just prior’to the advent of the Pleistocene. ‘This location is 
justified by the only vertebrate fossils definitely traceable to these beds, 
which have been sent me for identification by Mr. E. I. Dumble, State 
Geologist of Texas. One of these consists of a well-preserved left 


ramus with symphysis and nearly complete dentition of the mandible 


of the large lama, Holomensicus hesternus Leidy. ‘This species is char- 
acteristic of the Equus beds of Oregon, California and Mexico, and 
indicates satisfactorily the age of the formation in which it occurs. It 
confirms fully the position assigned to the Fayette beds by Mr. Penrose 
and by President Chamberlain for their eastern extension. ‘The only 
other identifiable fossil from this formation is several teeth of the Zguus 
major Dekay. ‘This species is most abundant in the Eastern States, 
where the Equus beds have not been certainly identified; but it occurs 
also in the Equus bed of Nueces county, with other characteristic 
species of that epoch. ‘The specimens of the two species named came 
from Wharton county. 


II. UPPER. CENOZOIC OF THE STAKED PLAINS. 


-In some remains of vertebrata, obtained by Mr. W. F. Cummins, 
from Crosby county, Texas, and sent me for determination by Mr. E. 
T. Dumble, State Geologist, four genera may be identified, and several 
others areindicated. ‘The four genera are Equus, Mastodon, Creccoides 
g.n., and Testudo. ‘They are enclosed in a white siliceous friable 
chalk, which Mr. Louis Woolman finds on examination to be highly 
diatomaceous. Professor C. Henry Kain had identified the following 
species: Campylodiscus bicostatus W. Smith; Apithemia gibba Ehr.; 
HE. zebra Ehr ; EF. gibberula var. producta Ehr.; Navicula major Ehr.; 
N. viridis Ehr.; N. rostrata Ehr.; NV. elliptica var. minutissima Green; 
Gomphonema clavatum Ehr.; Cymbella cistula, Hemp.; Hragillaria 
vivescens Raffs var. ‘The formation. has been named the Blanco Can- 


— ~ Ll a Lt a ie ae ce 
Ae SP mt St + ee 
: * ba 
Lb ; a 
; . i " 


pdape PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA. 


yon by Mr. W. F. Cummins of the Survey. (Report 1890, p. 190, 
without specific location in the Cenozoic series.) | 

The Mastodon is of the I. angustidens type, as indicated by the 
teeth, but there are not enough fragments preserved to render it clear 
whether they pertain to this species or some allied one. ‘The Equus is 
allied to the /. occidentalis of Leidy, but the enamel plates are more 
simple than in that species, being the most simple known in the genus. 
I regard it as an undescribed species, and describe it below under the 
name of Equus simplicidens. A second species of horse is indicated, 
but an exact determination cannot be made without additional ma- 
terial. The tortoise is a terrestrial form, but there is not enough 
preserved for identification. ‘ 


EQUUS SIMPLICIDENS COPE. Proceedings Am. Philos. Soc. 1892, p. 124. 


This species is represented by one nearly entire superior molar of an 
adult, and one of a young animal, with characteristic fragments of two 
other superior molars, and several fragments of inferior molars. The 
size of the teeth is about that of the / occidentalis and £. caballus. 


The internal column is of moderate anteroposterior extent, its posterior ~ 


border marking the anterior third of the posterior lake. Its long 
diameter is considerably less than half that of thecrown. A peculiarity 
found in two of the superior molars, but not in two others, is that the 
median dentinal connection between the external and median crescents 
is interrupted by the continuity of the.enamel plates bordering the 
lakes from the one to the other. ‘This arrangement is frequently seen 
in the large pm. 5, in the species of Equus, but does not occur in the 
other premolars and molars. It is a reversion to the condition seen in 
Anchitherium. A principal character of the species is seen in the ex- 
treme simplicity of the enamel borders of the lakes. They are without 
inflection, except the usual loop on the posterior inner border of the 
anterior lake, and this is simple and widely open at the base. At the 
point of junction of the median crescents (meta and paraconules), the 
usual loop of the internal enamel borderis seen. ‘The external median 


rib is narrowed and not flattened; the anterior rib is more flattened, 


especially at the present grinding face. 

The species with which it is necessary to compare this species is the 
Liquus occidentalis of Leidy. ‘The enamel plates bordering the lakes 
in that species are always more complex, although they are simpler in 


it than in any other extinct species of North America. Even in the 


simplest forms (e. g., that figured by Leidy in Vol. I, Report United 
States Geological Survey Tens., 1873, Plate XXXIII, Figures 1, 2) 
the lakes have anterior and posterior emarginations on the inner border, 
which are wanting in the present species. 


‘fad 


ex 
i, 


/ 


UPPER CENOZOIC OF THE STAKED PLAINS. yratss 


The species is probably the oldest member of the genus Equus known 
from North American beds. It is the only species which was contem- 
porary with a Mastodon with the WZ. angustidens type of molars. The 
simplicity of the enamel foldings is appropriate to this primitive period, 
as it approximates to the condition seen in many of the three-toed 
horses and the supposed one-toed Hippidium spectans Cope.* ‘The size 
of the molars is about that of the modern horse, /. caballus L,. 

Observations—The contemporaneity of this species of Equus with 
the Mastodon with molars of the JZ. angustidens type has considerable 
significance. The latter is characteristic of the Loup Fork horizon in 
North America, in which the genus Equus does not occur. The Equus 
beds,so named from the abundance of individuals of four species of Equus 
which they contain, have never produced a specimen of Mastodon allied 
to M. angustidens in North America.t ‘The fact that the Equus of the 
Staked Plains is different from those of the Equus beds, adds to the in- 
dication furnished by the Mastodon that these beds do not belong to 
the Equus horizon; but the presence of the genus Equus is equally 
conclusive that they do not pertain to the Loup Fork. It is probable 
that the age of the beds is intermediate. ‘They thus offer an interest- 
ing field for further research. 


_CRECCOIDES OSBORNII SHUFELDT. Proceedings of American Philo- 


sophical Society, 1892, p. 125. 


Char. gen.—Only a fragment of a left tarsometatarsus represents 
this new genus and species of bird. It evidently belonged to some 
wader of about the proportions of a medium-sized heron, or to a form 
rather larger than the Floridan crane-like rail Aramus. 

The specimen consists of about the superior moiety of the tarsometa- 
tarsus, and, in so far as it goes, appears to be perfect, with the excep- 
tion of slight marginal abrasions of the summit of the bone and the 
almost complete fracturing off of the hypotarsial process. Superiorly, 
the intercondyloid prominence or tubercle is rounded and not especially 
conspicuous; the inner condyloid depression is more extensive than 
the outer one, and occupies a higher plane. In front the shaft is longi- 
tudinally excavated only above, the excavation gradually but soon dis- 
appearing as we pass down towards the distal extremity; and at the 


_midpart of its continuity it is subcylindrical upon section. A short 


distance below the head of the bone are seen the usual anteroposterior 
perforating foramina, here three in number, two being lateral and be- 
low, with a mid one just above them. Immediately below these is a 
single, somewhat prominent tubercle for the insertion of the tendon of 
*American Naturalist 1887, p. 1072. : 
tIt is probable that the Dibelodon shepardii Leidy, which has molars of this 


type, occurs in the Equus beds of the valley of Mexico. Cfr. Cope, Proceedings 
of American Philosophical Society, May, 1884. 


954. ' PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA. 


the tibialis anticus muscle. It occupies nearly a medial position upon 
the shaft. So far as can be ascertained from the imperfect hypotarsial 
process it would appear that it possessed originally a large, single, 
inner groove for tendons, with a plate-like projection to its outer side. 

Char, specif.—Proximally, the tarsometatarsus is considerably exca- 
vated to the inner side of the hypotarsus ata point just below the 
summit. ‘The outer muscular line is single and commences at the 
middle point of the margin of the outer condylar depression, passing 
from thence down the back of the shaft. The inner muscular line 
bifurcates proximally, then passes more obliquely backwards than the 


outer line, to finally pass parallel with the latter also down the back 
of the shaft. . 


MEASUREMENTS. 
Mm 
Greatest transverse width of proximaliend’ 2°. 5 Vi 5 ay 3 a 15 
Greatest anteroposterior diameter of prox. end, not including hypotarsus . . 11 


Distance from apex of intercondyloid tubercle to the tubercle for tib. ant. muscle 10 ) 


Vertical depth of ‘hypotarsus .° J) 2) Se 
Transverse diameter of shaft near its middle 


Remarks.—This fragment has been compared with the corresponding 
part of the skeleton in a great many kinds of birds. It was found to 
differ entirely from all larine, gallinaceous and raptorial types, while 


on the other hand it seemed to combine the characters of several various ~ 


species of existing waders and allied groups. The writer compared it 
with numerous species of the genera Guara, Plegadis, Aramus, Rallus, 
Crex, Porzana, Ajaja, Tantalus, Botaurus, Ardea, Nycticorax, Grusand 
the Gallinules, Storks, etc. 


For a skeleton.of Crex pratensis I am indebted to Mr. F. E. Beddard, 


prosector of the Zoological Society of London, and for the loan of other 
material to the United States National Museum, as well asto Mr. F.A. 
Lucas, of that institution, for placing the same at my disposal. In 
the specimen under consideration, the Ralline characters appear to pre- 
dominate, while more remotely we may see Ibis in its general form and 
outline. Apart from the question of size it, however, distinctly differs 
from the tarsometatarsus in such a form as Aramus giganteus in that 
the shaft is more cylindrical as it approaches its midportion, and, as 
has been said above does not show the anterolongitudinal excavation 
in that part. Moreover, in Aramus the hypotarsus exhibits two grooves 
for the passage of tendons, and the tubercle for the insertion of the 
tibialis anticus muscle is double. Essentially, it agrees with Aramus 
in the general form of its hypotarsus and in the direction of its lateral 
muscular ridges. In other particulars it exhibits both some minor 


differences and agreements with the corresponding bone in the skeletons. 


of Crex and Rallus. Upon the whole the specimen would appear to 
have belonged to some large rail-like wader, now extinct. 
The name of the genus I create to contain this form is composed o 


<> 
. 7 


UPPER CENOZOIC OF THE STAKED PLAINS. 200 


the two Greek words, ——-, a crake, and ——, resemblance. Its spe- 
cific name is given it in honor of Prof. Henry F. Osborn, of Columbia 
College, New York, in recognition of his excellent work in paleontol- 
ogy for a number of years past. \ 

The specimen was collected by Mr. W. F. Cummins, and the writer 


is indebted to Prof. E. D. Cope, for the opportunity of describing it.— 
RL. W. Shufeldt. 


TESTUDO TURGIDA. Proceedings of American Philosophical Society, 
1892, page 127. 


This species is represented by the greater part of a chelonite of about 
the size of the Xerobates agassizii.of Arizonas It is remarkable for 
the remarkable depth of the dermal sutures and sculpture lines, and 
for the swollen character of the interspaces which separate both. “The 


general shape is a short, wide oval, with steep to vertical margins. 


The plastron is widely emarginate posteriorly, and the anal-femoral 
dermal sutures form a deep notch in the border. ‘The anal scuta are 
oblique rhomboids, with equal and nearly parallel sides. ‘The median 
longitudinal dermal suture is deep and wide, cutting half through the 
thickness of the plastron. It sends off a branch on each side bounding 


~the gular platesin front. ‘The part of the plastron enclosed in the latter 


forms two flattened cones appressed together, whose vertical diameter 


- exceeds the transverse, and whose subconic apices are separated by a 


deep notch. ‘The interclavicular bone is very large and is wide dia- 
mond-shaped, the anterior angle being larger than the posterior. The 
transverse humeropectoral suture is very deep, and is similar to the 
median longitudinal. The borders of the anterior lobe are strongly 
convex, with a chord only twice as long as the lateral border of the 
gular plates. 

The nuchal bone has a strongly concave-emarginate border. On the 
posterior vertebral bones is a seat-like concavity, which is surrounded 
by a ridge which forms the greater part of a circle. The costal bones 
are unequally divided by the costal dermal sutures, which are very deep. 
Each costal scutum is divided into two areas, one of which is marked 
with ribs parallel to the vertebral axis at one extremity and a seat- 
shaped plane with a bordering ridge at the other, which is in some of 
the costals smaller and more swollen. ‘The other half or part of the 
costal scutal area is swollen in the longitudinal direction, but not for 
its entire length. ‘Ihe marginal bones are massive and have a subacute 
border between the bridge and the median points. They are much 
deeper than long, and are deeply divided by the sutures which sepa- 
rate the dermal marginals. ‘hese grooves cut the margin into deep 
notches at some points and into shallower ones at others. The areas be- 
tween these sutures are all swollen in the same way as the alternate 
parts of the costal plates. 


256 PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA. 


MEASUREMENTS. ef 

Length of plastron anterior to posterior angle of interclavicle! "2723. Gee 80 

Width of plastron anterior to posterior angle of interclavicle. ....... 112 

Length of interclavicle . 2. .+.re/.) Si. a eo 40 

Width of interclavicle = . .3...<)s 6 fil DUS 58 

Thickness of interclavicle £ . 4.0. 2° oS ee om oe ene 11 

Length of free lateral margin of gular plate 205 ) 4 inc ee 29 

Width of base of both gular plates =. 22) 9) a 45 

Length of xiphiplastral bone 2-0) 8 . . 32 

Width of xiphiplastral bone on anterior suture... . .. . . /. . ) ee 53 

Width of emargination of posterior lobe of plastron .........2-... 50 

anteroposterion# ..\.. ).2. fe nae 20 

Diameters of free marginal near bridge | ese Nit 5 ese Greets iryrotry | 

transverse below \.. :- . semen Eee 25 

( anteroposterior .. 4. +, -) see ee 29 

Diameters of marginal of bridge. . vertital “22. 4 ee ae 

transverse below +4 4.) ea sae 21 

anteroposterior.) es) )n aaa 17 
Diameters of penultimate vertebral bones 

transverse . 2... 1. 1 30 


The American tortoise, which has produced gular areas somewhat 
like those of this species, is the Zestwdo cultratus, Cope, of the White 
River Neocene of Colorado. ‘That species is, however, totally dif- 
ferent in the dermal sutures of the usual character, flat marginals, etc., 
and the gular processes are not conic, but trihedral in form. 

The. specimen above described comes from Espuela near Dockum. 
The horizon is the same as that of Crosby county, i. e., the Blanco 
Canyon bed. | 

III ON A MESOZOIC PYCUODONT. 


Micropus DuMBLEH. Proceedings Amer. Philos. Soc., 1892, p. 128. 


This species is represented by a splenial bone of the left side, which 
supports four and a half rows of teeth. The external two rows include 
small teeth with crowns which are either round or slightly transversely 
oval. The teeth of the third row are larger and the crowns are all 
transversely oval. The teeth of the fourth row are of unequal sizes, 
commencing anteriorly of about the same size as those of the third 
row. ‘The third tooth from the front, as preserved, is much larger, but 
it is exceeded by the fourth; while the fifth is half as large again as the 
fourth. The sixth and last is a little smaller than the fifth. The teeth 
of the fifth row are as small as those of the first and second rows, and 
extend posteriorly to the anterior part of the fourth of the fourth row, 
and not beyond. The crowns of the teeth are perfectly smooth and 
without keel or depression. 


Mm. 
Leétigth of tooth ‘series: >>) 4: 20°. sya A iee ee ems ro lhe a ee BAG 1 
Six teeth fof ‘external. row.) . “Sih ee ee Sen itt 
Six teeth of third row. ».$. just Vig sake el oe tee ss es rer 11.5 
Six teeth of fourth row... |< °.iCe SUR ee eee cite Oe 16.5 
Diameters of fifth of fourth row {teers 


TRIASSIC OR DOCKUM BEDS. 257 


The horizon of this species is not exactly known, but it is probably 
Lower Cretaceous. It gives me much pleasure to dedicate it to Mr. E. 
T. Dumble, Director of the Geological Survey of Texas. 


V. TRIASSIC OR DOCKUM BEDS. 


The fossils from these beds present a general similarity to those ob- 
tained elsewhere in the Trias. Fragments of large Stegocephali are 
abundant, and Crocodilia of the Parasuchian group are still more so. 
Teeth like thuse of the Eastern Clepsysaurus and Zatomus also occur. 
The number of identifiable species is small, and the best preserved of 
these is a new representative of the genus Episcoposaurus Cope, already 
described, from the Triassic bed of New Mexico.* 


EPISCOPOSAURUS HAPLOCERUS. Proceedings Amer. Philos. Soc., 
1892, p. 129. 

I refer to this species the following pieces which were found together 
by Mr. W. F. Cummins: A dorsal and probably two caudal vertebre; 
a scapula of the right side; a few fragments of ribs, and almost thirty 
dermal bones. ‘The generic characters and those of higher value may 
be first described. 

The single dorsal vertebra is from the posterior part of the series. 
Its articular surfaces are shallowly concave. ‘The neural arch is not 
entirely co-ossified, part of the internal surface being visible in the 
fracture, from which the neurapophysis has been broken. There isa 
rib-facet at each end. ‘The smaller, which is longer than deep, is con- 
tinuous at an open angle with the tubercular articulation of the short 
diapophysis. ‘The other is longer than deep, lenticular in outline, and 
terminates acutely above. ‘The scapula is massive, and the inferior 


extremity is thinned below and turned obliquely inwards. No meso- 


scapula. ‘The coracoid facet is not large, and is separated by an angle 
from the glenoid cavity. ‘The ribs are flat, not very wide, and have one 
subacute edge. The head of one is attached to the dorsal vertebra, 
above described. ‘The capitular and articular surfaces are subequal and 
are separated by an angle. ‘The dermal bones are thick and are united 
by suture, so as to form transverse bands across the body; but are not 
united in the anteroposterior direction. Some of them have median 
tuberosities, which are developed in others into horn-like spines. These 
four rows on the opposite side of the middle line not being symmet- 
rical. 

Char. specif.—The dorsal vetebra above referred to has the centrum 
slightly wider than deep. Its inferior surface is contracted on each side, 
and is slightly concave on the middle line. The surface is smooth. 


The diapophysis is robust, subtriangular in section, and it does not 


project freely beyond the centrum. ‘The centrum of a caudal vertebra 
* Proceedings Amer. Philos. Soc., 1887, p. 213. 


“ 


258 PALEONTOLOGY OF THE VERTEBRATA. 


with chevron facets is deeper than wide, and has a robust diapophysis, 
which springs principally from the centrum. The outline of the artic- 
ular face is a hexagon elongate vertically. This is partly due to the 
broad truncation of the inferior face. Concavity of centrum slight. 


MEASUREMENTS OF VERTEBRA AND RIBS. 


Mm 

anteroposterior. (sso 05. tyes ie) ous oe 66 

Diameters of dorsal vertical SF i ss ee a 64 
: transverse. dietitian ey os side ip Mn 75 

anteroposterior 6/0022. i.e.) Wt) pe 52 

Diameters of caudal vertical }0 600.4. Ve Yue Oe 59 
: transverse... 0 tS a, 51 

Vertical diameter of head of rib attached to dorsal, above mentioned .... 46 
Transverse diameter of capitulum of ‘rib attached to dorsal > 75.0). gy neeene: 
Transverse diameter of shaft of another rib.2. 0.2 2 a 40 
Thickness of shaft of ‘another riD o) S45 fe a ee 15 


The section of the scapula is everywhere lenticular. Itis robust, rather 
short, without much constriction at the base, and but a moderate ex- 
pansion above. A distinct clavicular facet is not preserved. The 
incurvature of the inferior surface is most abrubt anteriorly, the angle 
there amounting almost to a tuberosity. 


MEASUREMENTS OF SCAPULA. 


Mm 

Length on external face from superior border to line of superior edge of gle- 
noid cavity 9. RO Yi noe onan cand ae eee a ol Re ee 141 
Diameters at narrowest part. ........ anteroposterior 2) i aaae 60 
{Tansverse a) 9 roe 32 
Diameters plenoid Cavity =... sae } vertical |. “St ae 52 
( transverse.” 7) ae eae 40 


The dermal bones are subquadrate in form, and have sutures on two 
opposite sides and thin edges on the other opposite sides. The inferior 
surface is more or less concave from one sutural border to the other. 
They are all coarsely pitted, but the pits are reduced in size towards 
the edges in some of the plates. In many of the plates there is a 
prominent obtusely conic tuberosity placed unsymmetrically near the 
center or edge of the plate. This tuberosity is in some of the plates 
developed into a prominent spine or horn, which has an anteropos- 
teriorly oval section. The surfaces of the tubérosities are punctate. 
These horns are placed on the sides, and: probably not far from the 
median line, since they form with the adjacent tuber-bearing plates a 
strong angle, such as would be necessary to enclose the neural spines 
of the vertebral column. It is also not certain whether these spines 
were on the dorsal, cervical or caudal regions, or whether they were 
on allof them. The plates adjacent to those bearing spines are the 
most robust. The spines are gently curved, probably backwards. 


TRIASSIC OR DOCKUM BEDS. 259 


MEASUREMENTS OF DERMAL PLATES. 


Mm. 

fanteroposterior. ..».~. . 90 

Diameters of plate without knob. . PeanBVeTHeR GT fee oy oe 78 
vertical at suture. .... 18 

| anteroposterior .... .100 

Diameters of plate with knob TLATISWELSCMES fp Abe iny? a) hs ri 
VETliCaaL Suture. yor. |). OF 

( anteroposterior .... .115 
Diameters of plate with spine - / transverse (chord) .... 65 
(ere AUSUENTGH. Cig oa.) BO 
Elevation of spine of plate last measured from base (apex restored). . . . . 190 
uetieters OL spine at base *./- 1... sw. BIRD Nc aca) Sake Pa eee 
transversese Ape a), OD 
Diameters of spine 45 mm. below apex .. . . { anteroposterior... . . 30 
| transverse ieN veanats Sita STU 
DE NT AL OMG. Sy ye Sh Ac el a) oo as ea oe Sete an Wega o ap ae, D 
Mee ces OL O11S Ol KNODGER DONE =. 5.1 ee as a PS Oe” 


In comparison with the only species of the genus known thus far, the 
Ef. horridus, the present species has the tuberosities and horns of a dif- 
ferent shape. In that species the former are compressed and keel-like, 
‘and the horns are also compressed, having an edge in front anda 
triangular section. The individual which served as the basis of the 
description of the H. horridus is also of rather smaller size than the 
present one. 


Seu LoOUULECTEDSIN THE SAND 


A DRY SALT LAKE NEAR EDDY, NEW MEXICO. 


LIST AND NOTES 


BY 


Holeuenmeve.’ co. Hy by Koh: 


SHELLS COLLECTED 


IN THE 


SAND OF A DRY SALT LAKE NEAR EDDY, NEW MEXICO. 


LIST AND NOTES BY DR. V. STERKI. 


The specimens collected in the sands of a dry salt lake near Eddy, 
New Mexico, by Mr. W. F. Cummins, of the Texas Geological Sur- 
vey, and kindly sent for examination by Mr. J. A. Singley, also of the 
Survey, are very interesting in several respects. They were very 
fragile and many of them broken more or less, yet no fragments of 
other forms could be found in the debris outside of those enumerated 
in the list. It was very difficult to handle and examine them, the more 
so since in most of them, especially the Pupidw, the apertures were 
filled up with a chalky mass to remove which could not even be at- 
tempted. Some parts of the shells were also eroded by salt water (?), 
atmospheric influences, etc., especially the callous deposits, crests in 
the Pupide, also leaving in the palatal walls of Pupa milium and 
Vertigo ovata deeply impressed lines corresponding to the inside plice. 

‘The species represented are the following, viz: . ? 

Hyalina minusculus, Binn. One example. 

Vallonia costata, Mull, var. Numerous. 

Vallonia, sp. indt. One example. 

Pupa (Pupilla) muscorum, I, Rather numerous. 

Pupa (Bifidaria) procera, Gould. Three examples. 

Pupa (Bifidaria) pentudon, Say. Very probable. One example, 
immature. 

Pupa (Angustula) milium, Gould. Quite numerous. 

Vertigo ovata, Say. Sparingly. 

Succinea avara, Say. Sparingly. 

Succinea ovalis. Gould(?) One fragment. 

Linnea desidiosa, Say(?). A few examples. 

Linnea humilis, Say. ‘Two or’three examples. 

Planorbis parvus, Say. <A few. 

Pisidium abditum, Hald. Some valves. 

Besides these molluscs, there were about a dozen entire shells of one 
or two species of Cypris or Cypridina (an Ostracod crustacean) proba- 
bly of comparatively recent origin. 

The first impression on looking over these shells was one of surprise. 
They are in general northern species, or at. least such as are found 
sparingly in the fauna of the southwest at this time. But, then, why 


264 SHELLS COLLECTED FROM A DRY SALT LAKE. 


only these and not other forms also that are now almost everywhere 
found in company of those described? Some inore, however; might be 
found if more material were at our disposition. On the other hand, 
there is amongst them not one of the characteristic forms now inhabit- 
ing that part of the country. 

To judge of their geological age is impossible for me, but that could 
be ascertained (and probably has been) by the gentleman making the 
collection. 

It would be of interest to have more of the material, and also to 
know whether there were any larger shells or fragments of such found 
in the locality. 

But it must be said also that our knowledge is very limited concern- 
ing the recent molluscan fauna of that region. The valleys, as well as the 
mountains, where more conformity with the northern forms may be 
found, or remains of the glacial epoch possibly exist, of which the 
shells under consideration might be witnesses. 

A few notes to the above list may not be amiss. 

The specimen of Hyalina minuscula has a diameter of 2.1 m. and 
the spire is rather elevated. 

The form of Vallonia costata represented here by numerous speci- 
mens, is different from the common one of Europe and northeastern 
North America; it is somewhat larger (2.5-2.3 m.), the spire is more 
elevated, the whorls are, in most specimens, half more in number and 
more gradually increasing, more convex above, and more densely 
striated. How far the strize were corresponded by ribs of the epiconch 
in the fresh shell is impossible to tell, but their existence is very proba- 


ble. The umbilicus is decidedly wider and especially so by the last half 


whorl receding periferically. With all these differences, I yet be- 
lieve we have to regard the present form as a variety of Costata rather 
than as a different species. | 

There is one specimen of Vallonia, diameter 2.4 m., with more ele- 
vated spire, smaller whorls, finer striation, and a deep, regularly formed 
umbilicus. The aperture is comparatively smaller, somewhat less ob- 
lique (to the axis) and especially less tangential, its margins are only 
slightly averted and without any trace of a lip-thickening. Whether 
the example be mature or not is impossible to decide, and also whether 
it represents only an individual aberration of the foregoing or a different 
species;. but the latter is decidedly more probable. 

Pupa muscorum,.—The typical form as far as recognizable, a parietal 
lamella is present in some, absent in other examples. The true mus- 
corum is now living only in the northeast, hardly exceeding New York 
to the west or south. Among the different related forms from the 
mountainous west I have not'seenatype. ~ 


DESCRIPTION. 265 


Pupa procera is a species of the east and interior part of our country,* 
its most southwestern position being middle Texas, from where I have 
seen it in company with P. hordeacea, Gabb, and P. hordeacellu, Pilsbry. 

Linnea desidios1.—About ten small specimens, for the most part 
damaged, of a slender form, distinctly umbilicated, with well rounded, 
somewhat shouldered whorls and deeply impressed suture, can hardly 
be ranged under any other species, although, even when mature, they 
certainly were of small size. 

Plunorbis parvus.—Among the specimens, most of them very young, 

there were two with considerably narrower whorls. Yet I believe they 
rather represent a poorly developed local form than a different species. 

Pisidium ubditum.—While I range the valves examined under this 
head, it must be said that they differ somewhat in outline. A few have 
the posterior part distinctly truncated, in others the lateral teeth, es- 
pecially the posterior, are short and high. ‘The specimens are small 
and most of them young. 

NEw PHILADELPHIA, Ohio, May, 1892. 


*See ‘‘The Nautilus,’’ IV, p. 140. 


’ 


a S 
he | 


REPORTS 


ON 


feet: “ORR VACHOUS. AREA 
NORTH OF THE COLORADO RIVER. 


I, THE BOSQUE DIVISION, 
Il, THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION, 


BY 


eA AWE: 


Ap 
a 
oe cr , = 


REPORTS 


ON THE 


CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO RIVER. 


BYug As TARR, 


PREBFACHE. 


While many treatises have been published concerning the Cretaceous 
system of Texas, including that part north of the Colorado river, none 
have dealt in detail with the stratigraphy. Not even has there been 
given a complete section of the rocks in their typical occurrence, and 
indeed, up to 1887, very little was known of the true relations of the 
two series, or of the separate divisions composing them. 

The formation has not been studied elsewhere in the United States 
under conditions which exist here, and the consequence was that, 
worked as it was, almost exclusively in the light of paleontologic evi- 
dence, there had arisen some confusion of its true relations. The fauna 
was studied in a great measure apart from the stratigraphy, and from 
the fact that the fauna of the Texas series was almost entirely new in 
species, rock correlations made from it were very unsatisfactory. 

So little attention was given to the stratigraphy, the unconforma- 
bility between the upper and lower series was not even suspected, nor 
the existence of the great fault thought of, which almost transects the 
State along the contact of the two series. 

The littoral or shallow water deposit at the beginning of the Upper 
Cretaceous era was misinterpreted, and that part occupied by the 
Lower Cross Timbers was considered to be Tertiary, because of its 
sandy beds and apparently more recent fauna and flora. At the same 
time that part of the formation which extends along Red River below 
Denison was correlated with a part of the basal sands of the Lower 
Cross Timbers, the Upper Cretaceous marl, Trinity sand at the base of 
the Lower Cretaceous, and with the Permian red beds and Tertiary of 
the Llano Estacado of Northwest Texas, and was called Lower Creta- 
ceous.* 

The publications of Wm. Kennedy, Dr. Ferd Roemer, B. F. Shu- 
mard, and other scientific explorers, were of great value to the State, 
but with the exception of the highly valuable paleontologic works of 
Drs. Roemer and Shumard, there is little that contributes knowledge 
of scientific importance. 


* “Partial Report on the Geology of Western Texas,”’ p. 20 e/ seq., by Geo. G. 
Shumard. Also, ‘‘Observations on the Cretaceous Strata,’’ B. F. Shumard, Trans- 
actions Academy of Sciences, St. Louis, pp 588-590 and other publications. 


270 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


All the information published concerning the geology of Texas north 
of the Colorado, since 1886, gives merely an outline of the geology, 
the occurrence and general development of the beds with their most 
characteristic fossils. 


GENERAL GEOLOGIC AND PETROGRAPHIC FEATURES OF THE 
REGION. 


NoOMENCLATURE.—The terms used by geologists to represent the 
groups and systems of groups of the rocks of the earth’s crust have 
been in the main fixed. ‘The terms used to represent series of systems, 
divisions of series and beds of divisions are dependent for their names 
upon their character and environments. Names to which there are no 
objections are exceedingly difficult to select, because geologists work- 
ing in different fields see different developments of the same beds. A 
deposit of deep-sea limestone, as it is traced from the interior of the 
former sea to its old shore-line, will diminish in thickness, or be re- 
placed by varying beds of sand or clay, and as a bed of rock is traced 
for a long distance parallel to the former shore-line, its character varies 
with the conditions and nature of the material from which it was de- 
rived. 

Where the country rocks are hard, or crystalline, rivers and creeks 
transport comparatively little sand or silt from the land into the sea. 
In such localities the sea is often deep not far distant from the shore, 
and the conditions are suitable for the deposition of clay and lime 
sediments. At other localities along the same seashore line, where the 
country rocks are soft sands and clays, the rivers carry vast quantities 
of mud and sand oui to sea, forming new beds of sand and elay to be con- 
solidated into rocks similar to those on the high land. In these deep 
sea and shallow water formations the shells of mollusks and the skele- 
tons of other animals which inhabit the sea and land show that this is 
a continuous bed, though the rock changes from lime to clay or sand. 
A bed of limestone in the lower division of the Lower Cretaceous occur- 
ring in the western part of Travis county, where the shore of the sea 
in which it was formed was but a few miles to the west, if traced 
northward along its outcrop into Parker, Wise and Montague counties, 
will be seen to change from the limestone in the first place to an arena- 
ceous marly lime rock, and then further on into a calcareous sand. If 
we examine the rocks along which the shore of this Cretaceous sea 
once existed, we find, opposite the near shore limestone, hard crystal- 
ine limestone, schist and granite, forming a mountainous, rugged 
. coast; but further north, where the sands of the same bed were formed, 
the country rocks are comparatively soft sands and clays. 

Since, therefore, beds and rocks change in composition, and vary in 
extent of development from one part of a district to another, and since 
a bed, thick and without much variation in composition in one place, 


UPPER CRETACEOUS. 271 


thins in another and forms local subdivisions, it is necessary to exercise 
great care in naming divisions and beds, lest it be found afterwards 
that the names do not apply in the locality of their typical develop- 
ment, or lest it be found that the name given really applies only to a 
part when it should apply to the whole division or bed. 

It-is also fruitful of much trouble to apply the distinction of ‘‘bed’’ 
to-certain local subdivisions of rock that are clearly seen to form parts 
of a homogeneous whole, which have been as a whole correctly distin- 
guished as a bed. In many cases this was inevitable on account of 
partial studies of rocks in local areas. 

Certain names have been applied to the divisions of the Texas Cre- 
taceous, because of some lithologic feature of a subdivision, or on account 
of a fossil which may abound in one or more of the beds of the division. 
For instance, the term ‘‘chalk,’’ when applied to a division of rock 
which is not chalky in general, and which in some localities has no 
chalk, is misleading, and should not be adopted. 

For these reasons, wherever practicable, such names are dropped in 
this report, and abstract names that have been applied are used in their 
stead. 

The following table of. divisions and subdivisions, in descending or- 
der, with names of authors, is as full as can be given: 


il UPPER) CRETACEOUS. 


North Texas. South Texas. 

Wanting. Eagle Pass division (4).* 
‘Wanting. 4. Escondido (4).+ 
Wanting. 3. ‘Coal series (4). 
Wauting. 2. San Miguel (4). 

dd. Blue marl. 1. Upson clay (4). 

ec. Austin limestone (1). * Pinto limestone (4). 

bb. Eagle Ford shale (3). Val Verde flags (4). 


aa. Red River (1).§ 


(1) B. F. Shumard: (2) Dr. Ferd. Roemer. (3) R.T. Hill. (4) E.T. Dumble. 
(5) J. A. Taff. 

* Applied to the division by Mr. E. T. Dumble in his Notes on the Geology of 
the Valley of the Middle Rio Grande, published in the Bulletin of the Geological 
Society of America, Vol. III., pp. 219-230. ‘ 

+ Extensive thickness of sand and marl deposits occur here in the Escondido 
and Coal Series beds which are considered to be above any known Cretaceous 
terranes north of the Colorado river. 

+ Named by Dr. B. F. Shumard in Transactions St. Louis Academy of Sciences, 
1860. ‘‘Dallas Limestone,” ‘‘Rocky Comfort Chalk,” ‘“‘Austin-Dallas .Chalk’’ 
and ‘‘Austin Chalk,’ of R. T. Hill. 

2 “Lower Cross Timbers Sands’ of Hill. Has its greatest development along 
Red River through Grayson, Fannin, Lamar and Red River counties. 


ay: CRETACKOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


I. LOWER CRETACEOUS. 

Washita Division. | 

m. Vola limestone (3). 

l. Arietina clay. 

k. Denison (8). 

j. Fort Worth (8). 
Fredericksburg Division (2). 

i. Kiamitia clay (5). 

h. Austin marble (8). 
Flag limestone (8). 
Caprina limestone (1). 
Comanche Peak (1). 

d. Texana, 
Bosque Division (5). 

c. Paluxy sand (8). 

b. Glen Rose (Alternating) bed (3). 

a. Trinity sand (3).* 


BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM NORTH OF COLORADO RIVER. 


LOWER CRETACEOUS (COMANCHE) SERIES. 

As a whole this series is a formation of limestone, though siliceous 

materials enter into its composition, and in some parts form the prevail- 
ing elements of rock-making materials. 


" BOSQUE DIVISION. 

Beginning at the base with the Trinity sand, there are heavy deposits 
of nearly pure sand, gravel, and in some cases conglomerates of cobble- 
stone, showing in their false-bedding and alternating structure of coarse 
and fine materials a history of rapid current and strong wave action 
along shore, followed by slighter current and weaker wave action. 
Near the top of these littoral deposits are records of slow deposits in 
fine sand and limy silt, which has been thrown down off-shore as the 
land subsided and as the shore-line moved further up. 

North of the Trinity river the bands of limestone and lenticular 
bands of calcareous clay of the Glen Rose (Alternating) bed succeed 
the littorals or the base of the system. ‘These layers of lime and marly | 
clay thicken into extensive beds of lime marl to the south and south- 
west between the Trinity and Colorado rivers. In these alternating 
beds of lime and lime marls there are recorded evidences of changing 
conditions in the deposits. | 

(1) B. F. Shumard. (2) Dr. Ferd Roemer. (3) R..T. Hill. (4) E. T. Dumble, 
(5) J. A. Taff. 

* Published as ‘‘Dinosaur,’’ ‘‘Basal,’’ ‘Upper Cross Timbers’’ and ‘Trinity 
Sand,’’ at various times, by Mr. R. T. Hill. It was originally given the promi- 


nence of a division, but later investigations by the Survey have proved it to be 
one of three beds of a united division. 


BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM. Wigs 


Layers of calcareous sand are succeeded by layers of arenaceous lime 
marl. Marl beds are followed by thick and thin beds of hard limestone 
and by chalky foraminiferal limestone near the center of the formation. 
Then in a general way the ascending order is reversed until sand is 
again brought to view. This latter condition exists only north of the 
Leon river, and south of that stream arenaceous and oolitic limestone 
continues upward, usurping the position occupied by the second sand 
zone further north. 

Multitudinous fossils of numerous genera and species abound in these 
alternating layers. The majority of these species do not pass to higher 
beds, though many do. With but few exceptions all of these fossils 
occur as casts which take the form of the inside of the shells, for which 
reason their identification is difficult. 

A small fragile variety of Hxoqgyra texana, Roemer, which occurs at 
the base of the Fredericksburg division, was found near the middle and 
at the summit of the Glen Rose series on the Bosque river, and one hun- 
dred feet beneath the summit of the bed on the Colorado river. 

As the Alternating beds diminish northward from the Leon river they 
are succeeded by an ever increasing bed of sand, called the Paluxy 
sand, which blends at its upper border with bands of dimension 
shell limestone and layers of marly sand. Between the Leon and 
Trinity rivers this sand rests upon Glen Rose lime and marl. North 
of the Trinity river, except for a few milesin the southern part of Wise 
county, the Paluxy sands rest upon the Trinity bed without a percep- 
tible break in the stratigraphy. The character of the upper portion of 
the Trinity and the Paluxy sand is similar in deposit, structure and 
fossil remains. - Both beds were probably formed under the same con- 
ditions and had the same origin. A pebbly zone, which follows 
the Paleozoic floor at the base of the Trinity, is not present in the 
Paluxy, for the reason that only the basal zone beds of the Trinity 
were shore deposits, and these fine sands were sorted and deposited 
near shore by weak currents and waves. 

Logs and fragments of silicified wood, lignite and silicified beds of 
leaves, occur in abundance in the Trinity and Paluxy sands. These 
were drifted as wood from the rivers out into the sea, where they sank 
and were covered by the sand. Where the sand surrounding the wood 
was porous, silicified wood was formed; but where the wood was en- 
veloped in clay or argillaceous sand, it became lignite. 


. FREDERICKSBURG DIVISION. 


This is pre-eminently the lime formation of the whole Cretaceous 
system. ‘Though there are indications of shallow water action in the 
ripple marked and slightly siliceous flagstones, yet the body of the 
limestone is quite pure and free from sand. 

The Texana bed begins with an arenaceous marl at the upper edge 


274 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


of the Paluxy sand, north of Lampasas county, and continues upward 
through horizons of marly chalky lime* and massive shell limestone 
to a massive chalky lime at the summit. Between the Colorado and 
Leon rivers the Texana bed rests upon the alternating limestone of the 
Glen Rose bed. Opposite Austin it is ten or fifteen feet thick; at 
Bachelor’s Peak, in Burnet county, it is seventy or eighty feet; in 
Bosque and Parker counties it is ninety to one hundred and twenty-five 
feet; from the Trinity river northward to Red River it rapidly dimin- 
ishes from more than one hundred feet to a narrow band of but a few 
feet. | 

On the approach of the chalky lime of the Comanche Peak bed, fol- 
lowing the Gryphewa pitchert, which prevails in such numbers and in 
such beauty of form in the center of the bed, the Texana bed dwindles 
to a small size and disappears. The /xogyra texana continues further 
up into the chalky lime where it attains its greatest thickness. ‘The 
line of parting between the Texana and Comanche Peak beds is not of 
stratigraphic importance. The marly lime of the one grades almost 
imperceptibly into the chalky lime of the other. The limit of occur- 
rence of the Avogyra teranu marks the border between them. 

With the Comanche bed there is a culmination of the chalky lime- 
stone begun in the Texana bed. From base to top it is massive and 
homogeneous in structure, and has clearly defined stratification planes. 
It weathers readily into conchoidal fragments and then into a chalky 


marl. ‘The bed is one hundred feet thick between the Colorado and ~ 


Brazos rivers, where it ends at the top in from ten to fifteen feet of a 
more persistent chalky lime. On hill slopes and as the capping rock 
of the buttes it stands out in a well defined bluff. North of the Brazos 
river this massive bed of chalky lime dwindles to a narrow band at 
the Indian Territory line. . 

The Caprina bed succeeds the Comanche Peak limestone with but 
little lithologic change in the strata. The magnificent and unique 
Rudistes and Chamidce fauna and the rich flint deposits peculiarize this 
bed. In Williamson county there are four grades of flints which range 
from very near the base to the summit of the bed, which has a thick- 
ness of nearly one hundred and sixty feet. South of this place the 
bed becomes much thicker even than this, as the writer observed on 
the Nueces river. Toward the north it diminishes in thickness until 
it disappears, as far as is known, between the Brazos and: Trinity rivers. 


The flaggy limestone follows upon the chakky and flinty lime deposits © 


of the Caprina bed, and presents a series of thin ripple-marked and 
thick flaggy limestone, barren of any fossil fauna so far as is at present 
known. ‘The occurrence of these flags is not known beyond a limited 


*Some of the local marly strata which occur in the bed in its greatest develop- 
ment have been designated as the Walnut clays. Bulletin of the Geological 
Society of America, Vol. II, p. 512. 


BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM. 275 


range. ‘They have been seen at Austin, at Round Rock and at George- 
town, where they have a thickness of from ten to fifteen feet. 

The Austin marble* is a narrow zone of masses of fossil Audistes 
and Chamidce, and follows upon the flag limestone. It is the culminat- 
ing zone for the numerous Caprina and Caprotina forms which ap- 
pear in the Caprina bed below. Like the flag limestone it is unknown 
beyond a limited range of occurrence. It has been seen at Austin, 
Round Rock, and along the Balcones escarpment between Austin and 
San Antonio. It has not been found to exceed ten feet in thickness 
at any locality observed. 

There is no reason on stratigraphic grounds why the Austin marble 
should be placed in the Washita division, and I have placed this bed 
in the Fredericksburg division because of the faunal relation it bears 
to other beds of this division. Itis the culminating bed of the mag- 
nificent Hippurite and Chamide fauna of the Lower Cretaceous. 

The Kiamitia clay f, has been studied but little. Sections were made 
of it at Goodland, where it was found to be one hundred and twenty 
feet thick. It was estimated to be nearly one hundred feet thick in the 
valley of Red River north of Denison. It was examined also in the 
Trinity river valley eight miles west of Fort Worth. 

Dark greenish blue laminated clays. with beds of limestone, from a 
few inches to a foot thick, composed almost wholly of the Gryphzea and 
Ammonite shells, compose the rock. 

At Round Rock there is at the base of the Fort Worth limestone a 
few feet of argillaceous shell limestone which contains the fauna of the 
Kiamitia clay. } 

This. bed is evidently a wedge of clay and shell lime, beginning on 
Red River with one hundred to one hundred and twenty feet, and end- 
ing or passing Round Rock as a thin band of argillaceous limestone. 


*Heretofore the Austin marble and the flag limestone have been placed at the 
lower limit of and considered to be the border bed of the Washita division. See 
Bulletin No. 4, Geological Survey~of Texas, p. 21. Inthe same Bulletin, pages 
25 to 46. the flag limestone (Barren Flags of that paper) is transferred to the top 
of the Fredericksburg division. In other publications also the same author has 
considered the Austin marble as belonging tothe Washita division. Of the fauna 
occurring in the bed not a single form, so far as we know at present, is known to 
occur above it, while every genus and species appears in one or the other of the 
two divisions below the Washita. _ 

+ Described in Bulletin of Geological Society of America, Vol. 2, p. 512. At all 
the localities examined by the writer there was no variation in the bed except in 
thickness. A decided Fredericksburg Ammonite, 4. acutocarinatus, occurs with 
the Gryphzea form G. forniculata.. It contains no Washita fossils as far as is 
known. Along the valley of the Brazos and Noland river individual fossils of 
Exogyra texana and other Fredericksburg fossils occur in the Kiamitia clay 
where it is fifteen to twenty feet thick. 


276 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


WASHITA DIVISION. 


The Washita formation brings to view an almost complete change 
of form and character of stratigraphy from that of the Fredericksburg 
below. The chalky and smooth flaggy beds of the Fredericksburg 
give place to earthy and marly layers of shell limestone and lime marl 
rarely becoming chalky. 

The Fort Worth limestone carries an abundant and varied fossil 
fauna of Ammonites, Echinoids, Ostrea, Pecten, Terebratula and Nau- 
tili, occurring in the greatest profusion, in many places forming masses 
of rock. An excellent section is displayed along the San Gabriel be- 
low Georgetown, and there is an exposure between Austin and the 
Balcones fault three miles to the west along the Colorado river. As 
the beds are traced north from the Colorado river to Red River lines of 
demarcation between them become more clearly drawn. 

The basal Ammonite zone remains a thick-bedded chalky limestone, 
while the medial Gryphaea zone becomes more arenaceous and shaly 
until:in many places it loses the characteristics of a limestone. ‘The 
upper Ostrea carinata and Terebratula zones become more shaly and 
marly than the same bands in the Colorado region, and blend with the 
Ostrea quadriplicata zone at the base of the Denison beds. ‘The whole 
subdivision, in its northern extension, shows fluctuating and near-shore 
deposits, after the basal Ammonites zone is passed, until a shore deposit 
is reached in the Denison beds. 

‘The thickness of the Fort Worth limestone varies but little from one 
hundred and fifty feet through its extent from Central to Northern 
‘Texas, 

The Denison bed has been studied but little, and its outlines have 
not been traced except in a limited area. Its greatest development in 
Texas is in the Red River valley in Grayson and Cooke counties, 
South of Cooke county the outcrop of the Red River sand bed conceals 
the rocks of the Denison bed except at occasional points where ero- 
sion along river valleys has removed the Sand. 

The Denison bed crops out over a distance of one mile parallel with 
the dip of the strata north of Denison.. From base to top the rocks 
are sandy clays, arenaceous lime and sands, friable except occasional 
fissile indurated flagstones, arenaceous lime and ferruginous nodules. 

The bed begins at the base with a narrow zone of marly lime con- 
taining great numbers of Ostrea quadriplicata associated with Gryphea 
washitaensis and Cyprimeria crassa. Fifty feet beneath the summit 
there is a band of arenaceous shell limestone one foot thick, which con- 
tains very many Ostrea quadriplicata. Above this zone fifty feet of 
nearly pure sand is found comprising strata of false-bedded sand with 
clay fragments interspersed, succeeded abruptly by thick beds of Hxo- 
gyra arietina limestone. | 

This whole bed is nearly one hundred and forty feet thick, and con- 


BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM. O77 


tains a very rich moluscan fauna. Its occurrence is not known as far 
south as the Brazos river. 

The Huxogyra arietina clay is the most peculiar deposit in the whole 
-of the Texas Cretaceous. ‘The occurrence of a continuous bed of clay 
from the Trinity river to the Rio Grande, a distance of nearly five hun- 
dred miles, of almost unvarying character, eighty to one hundred feet 
thick, and bordered on either side by thick beds of limestone, is a geo- 
logic feature worthy of note. 

From the Brazos to the Red River this bed is partially concealed by 
the overlap of the Red River sand bed. On the north bank of the 
Brazos, in western McLennan county, the clay is seventy feet thick. 

Along the valley of the Red River all that is seen of the Hrogyra 
arietina bed is fifteen or twenty feet of heavily bedded limestone, which 
contains very many individuals of the characteristic fossil, and which 
is bordered below by the Denison sand bed and above ey the sands 
of the Red River division. 

Whether the Denison ‘bed bears any nearer relation to the Arietina 
bed than merely a contact rock cannot at present be told. They bear 
no known fossil in common, except that the Ostrea quadriplicata occurs 
at the basal contact of the Hxogyra arietina limestone in the bluffs of 
a run in the east side of the city of Denison. 

VoLA LIMESTONE.—The Vola limestone represents the closing period 
of Lower Cretaceous sedimentation in Central and Southern Texas. 
This bed is ninety to one hundred feet thick on the Nueces river in 
Uvalde county, eighty feet thick on the Colorado river at Austin, and 
one to two feet thick on the south side of the Brazos river valley, near 
Bosqueville, in McLennan county. 

North of the Brazos river the overlap of the beds of the Red River 
division conceals this bed if it exists there at all. From its most 
northerly extension it continues south, overlain everywhere by the 
Eagle Ford division, which is the lowest division of the Upper Creta- 
- ceous south of the Brazos river. 

The characteristic fossil of this bed is the Pecten ( Vola) Roemeri 
(Hill), from which the bed has been named. 


UPPER CRETACEOUS SERIES. 


The Upper Cretaceous of North and Central Texas, as a whole, may 
beclassedasa marl. North of the Brazos only do the basal rocks partake 
of the nature of sandstone. Exclusive of this narrow area at the 
base of the Upper Cretaceous, occupied by the Lower Cross ‘Timbers, 

the prevailing rock elements are clay, lime and sand, in the order given. 
Though these rocks vary in color, durability, amount of organic matter, 
relative quantity of clay, lime and sand, they may all, nevertheless, be 
justly classed as a marl. With the exception of local indurations and 


278 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


nodular segregations these beds are all comparatively friable, yielding 
rocks. 

The Red River division represents the littoral and shore deposits of 
the Upper Cretaceous. It consists of sands and sandy clays, lignite 
and lignitic clay shales, and (rarely) arenaceous shell limestone, which 
rest with unconformability upon the upper beds of the Washita divis- 
ion between the Brazos and Red rivers. 

The beds of the Red River division diminish along their exposure 
toward the south from Red River, and finally disappear, or more prob- 
ably grade into the flaggy clay shaleand laminated clay of the Hagle 
Ford shale near the Brazos river. 


The area occupied by these sands was a land area part of the time, 


during the mid-Cretaceous elevation and depression, and the Lower 
Cretaceous rocks were eroded and deposited as Upper Cretaceous mate- 
rial. South of the South Bosque river the clay or flaggy limestone of 
the Eagle Ford shale, or Val Verde flags of the Rio Grande region, 
rests in conformability upon the Vola limestone. 

North of the Trinity river the line of parting between these sands 
and the overlying Eagle Ford shale is not clearly drawn lithologically, 
the gradation from one to the other being so gradual as to be hardly 
perceptible. 

The Eagle Ford shale succeeds the Red River sand bed north of the 
Brazos river. :Its greatest development is along the bed of the Red 
River, where it has a thickness of nearly six hundred feet. Coming 
south, this division diminishes gradually to about thirty feet at Austin. 

Along the contact of the Upper and Lower Cretaceous, from Red 
River to Rio Grande, there is an unconformability only between the 
Brazos and Red rivers. South of the Brazos river the clay or flaggy 
limestone of the Eagle Ford shale or Val Verde flag division rests in con- 
formability upon the Vola limestone and represents the off-shore deposits, 
equivalent to the Red River and Eagle Ford divisions in North Texas. 
That there is a representative of the Red River sand in the lower layers 


of the Eagle Ford shale south of the Brazos river is evident when it is . 


known that the sands thin out toward the south, becoming more argil- 

laceous, until they give place to clays and chalky flagstones; and it is 
true, also, that for every littoral deposit, however extensive, there is an 

off-shore and deep sea deposit, however diminished in thickness. 

The Austin limestone succeeds the Eagle Ford shale, with a develop- 
ment of strata reaching nearly six hundred feet in thickness, north of 
the Colorado river. South of the Colorado, however, this division in- 
creases to great thicknesses* in the valley of the Rio Grande. 

The discussion of the Austin limestone in Williamson county will 


BK. T. Dumble. 


BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM. 279 


apply to this division north of the Colorado river as far as is at present 


‘ known. 


The Blue Marl is the final division of the Cretaceous system in Texas. 
It presents a series of beds remarkable for their persistency and homo- 
geneity of deposits. The Austin limestone ends in a chalky lime marl, 
Which grades gradually into the Blue Marl. ‘This marl continues up- 
ward for nearly one thousand feet with but little lithologic or faunal 
change. The body of this deposit, from the base almost to the top, 
occurs as a continuous deposit from the Colorado to Red River. The 
upper layers, however, show slight changes northward from the Colo- 
rado. In Navarro county the upper arenaceous or glauconitic bed is 
nearly five hundred feet thick. Still further north, near Red River in 
Lamar county, thin limestone strata appear in the upper beds, and Ter- 
tiary strata lap over on the upper beds of the Blue Marl northward along 
the contact. In the valley of the Rio Grande this division has a devel- 
opment of many hundred feet beyond that of any portion of North 
Texas. A glance at Plate VIII will show the true stratigraphic succession 
of rocks of the Cretaceous system north of the Colorado river as de- 
scribed briefly above. 


Se PALE, VITG eo 


Trinity. 


Brazoske. 


HALL 
tt 
| byl! | 


_——— 


ColoradoR 


SS ae 


ila 
il 
HILL 


—- +> 
=e 


Gay, 


= 
Ca 
a 


= 
Ss 


—_—. 

= 

keel = ee ee 
=—_—— — >] 


—— 


hele! 


i] 


c= 


——— 
Sai, 


‘ 


=e 
bard 
ee 


l tH 
All | 


| 
ul 


DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION OF THE CRETACEOUS SYSTEM ALONG THE STRIKE FROM COLORADO TO RED RIVER. 


a. Trinitysand. b. Glen Rose (Alternating) bed.. c. Paluxy sand. d, Texana bed. 


limestone. h. Austin marble. i. Kiamitiac 


kota) division. 


* oe Ge Oe 
’ 


1000 feet. 


prinabed. g. Flag 
aa. Red River (Da- 


Vertical scale, 1 inch 


e. Comanche Peak bed. f. Ca 


k. Arietina clay. 1. Vola limestone. 
dd. Blue Marl division. 


Fort Worth limestone. 


A 


lay. 
bb. Eagle Ford shaledivision. cc. Austin limestone division. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 281 


I. THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The Bosque, or lowest division of the Lower Cretaceous of Texas, 
has been formed to bring together three beds which have hitherto been 
placed in separate divisions, but which, for reasons that will appear as 
the details are brought out, must be considered and treated as one con- 
tinuous series of deposits from the Paleozoic upward to the Fredericks- 
burg. ‘These three beds are: 

1. - Paluxy sand. 

2. Glen Rose (Alternating) beds. 

8. Trinity sands. 

This decision has been arrived at only after a most careful study of 
the entire section of the division at typical localities, followed by close 
examination of the beds in detail. 

The Bosque division is succeeded by rocks more homogeneous in 
structure and more persistent in nature, viz: the Texana bed of the 
Fredericksburg division. These superimposed rocks rest upon the 
medial Glen Rose bed at the Colorado river; but further north, on the 
Leon river, they pass upon the Paluxy sands, and so continue to the 
Indian Territory line in Cooke county. The contact line between the 
Bosque division and the succeeding divisions of the Fredericksburg 
has been accurately and continuously located north of the Brazos river, 
and many points have been located upon it south of the Brazos. The 
location of the line will be an easy matter from a simple description. 
South of the extension of the Paluxy sand, there is a chalky, crumbling 
limestone, which is toa great extent barren of vegetation and generally 
forms the base ofan escarpment. In this limestone there are always 
present very many fossils of Gryphcea pitcheri, a hook-beaked oys- 
ter, one to three inches in length. Associated- with this fossil is 
Fuxogyra texana, a flat, nearly eliptical, ostrean form. The lowest limit 
of these fossils marks the upper limit of the Bosque division. 

Long arms of Texana and Caprina beds extend from the main body 
of the Fredericksburg on the east far toward the west along the dividing 
ridges, or water-sheds, between the principal streams, often to the 
western border of the main Cretaceous area. On account of the pecu- 
liar topography of the Trinity, Alternating and Paluxy beds, this con- 
tact line is exceedingly tortuous. It passes from the river beds on the 
east upward toward the west, around the deep ravines and canyons 
of the tributaries that have been cut by headwater erosion, back toward 
the center of the narrow dividing plateaus or ridges to its extreme 
western limit, and then around eastward again to the base of the next 
river valley. This feature of the contact line is well illustrated in the 


282 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Colorado section, Plate IX, which is drawn parallel to the Colorado 
basin on its north side, from the Paleozoic to the Upper Cretaceous, 
across the valleys of some of the tributaries of the Colorado river, viz: 
Hickory, Cow, Post Oak, Sandy, Cypress and Bull creeks. At d, d, d, 
along the heavily dotted line, the contact of the Fredericksburg divi- 
sion is seen to touch the tops of the dividing ridges between the creek 


valleys. From point at d, west of Cow creek, the contact passes | 


around the head of each creek in a broken or contifiuous line, and 
finally appears at its most easterly extension at Mount Barker, where 
it is abruptly cut off and thrown down by the Balcones fault. From 
the same point d, west of Cow creek, the contact continues in the same 
tortuous line through Burnet and Williamson counties to the San Ga- 
briel river, twelve miles above Georgetown. ‘Thus it continues north- 
ward, from valley to valley, to the Indian Territory. North of the 
Lampasas river, the eastern limit of the Paluxy sands marks the Fred- 
ericksburg-Bosque contact. These sands are occupied by a narrow 
belt of timber extending from the Lampasas river to the southern part 
of Wise county, where they join the main bed of the Upper Cross 
Timbers. 
TRINITY SAND. 


GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.—Where the Trinity sand is exposed 
north of the Colorado river, it rests in unconformability upon Paleozoic 
rocks. Above it comes in contact in complete or partial conforma- 
bility with harder rocks, or rocks which are like it in character and 
which belong to the same geologic series. Where the superimposed 
strata are harder than the sand, a decided escarpment is formed by the 
rapid breaking down of the rocks over the friable yielding sand. Where 
this is the case, the contact of the sand and its overlying bed is clearly 
marked, and can be readily and accurately located. 

Such is not the case, however, at the base of the sand, where the 
harder rocks are below. In the valleys of the larger streams crossing 
the Trinity sand toward the southeast, and where erosion is very rapid, 
the contact of the sand with the Paleozoic rocks is easily discerned; but 
where these conditions are not present, the sands spread out over the 
edge of the irregular base level in attenuated sheets and remnant areas 
obscuring actual contacts. 

The basal contact of the Trinity sand or conglomerate crosses the 
Colorado river at the Travis-Burnet county line. ‘The conglomerate 
rests upon Carboniferous clay, shales and flaggy sandstones. Carbon- 
iferous rocks continue beneath the Trinity border, in a northerly direc- 
tion, very near the intersection of the Austin-Burnet road and Hairston 
creek, where they give place to pre-Carboniferous limestone. These 
limestones continue as the Paleozoic contact-rock from Hairston creek 
northeastward by way of Burnet to Spring creek, about four miles west- 


. ' THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 283 


northwest of Burnet. Here hard pre-Carboniferous sandstones succeed 
the limestone beneath the Trinity. and so continue northward to the 
point where the contact crosses Morgan creek, south of Dobyville. 
Pre-Carboniferous limestone occurs again at Morgan’s creek, and under- 
lies the sand to the Trinity-Paleozoic contact, where it crosses the Bur- 
net-Lampasas county line nearly due south of Nix, Lampasas county. 
From this point Carboniferous rocks persist beneath the Trinity sand 
across Lampasas county, one mile west of Nix, and thence nearly par- 
allel with the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway to Williams’ ranch 
in Mills county. ‘Thence the contact crosses into Brown county and 
crosses the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway very near Ricker. 
From Ricker it continues nearly on a straight lineto Clio. Beyond Clio, 
through Brown county, the southeastern portion of Callahan county, 
and northern Comanche county, there are large areas of undefined 
Trinity sand. ‘Beginning again in northern Comanche county, the 
contact line passes northward through the following points: 

Houston and Texas Central Railway four miles west of De Leon; 
Desdemonia, Eastland county; Twin Mountain, in northeastern Erath 
county, very near southeast corner of Palo Pinto county; Brazos river, 
very near south line of Parker county, at mouth of Kickapoo creek; 
Hiner Postoffice, south Parker county; Texas and Pacific Railway, 
nearly four miles east of Millsap; one and one-half miles west of An- 
thon; Whitt-Weatherford road one and one-half miles from Whitt, 
Parker county; Gibtown, Jack county; Willow Point, Wise county; 
two miles south of Bridgeport; Trinity river at the mouth of Sandy 
_ creek; Sandy creek’ due west of Decatur; Fort Worth and Denver Rail- 
way one mile west of Alvord, Wise county; very near Denver, Mon- 
tague and Bonita, Montague county; and Red River north of Bulcher 
Postofice, Cooke county. 

On account of the irregular surface of the Paleozoic rocks, upon 
which the Trinity sand rests, aud on account of the varied erosion of 
the many streams that pass across it with the dip of the rocks, the con- 
tact line marks a very tortuous course. .So much so that it is not ex- 
pedient to locate it by description. It is traced in detail, however, on 
the general map accompanying the First Annual Report, upon which 
all the divisions of the Cretaceous traced in the field are shown. Be- 
tween the main Cretaceous area and the Staked Plains there are many 
remnantal areas or islands of Cretaceous rocks of various sizes left by 
erosion as table lands, buttes, and ‘‘sand-roughs.’’ All of these with 
the exception of some undefinable remnants of loose sands, have been 
quite accurately located by actual surveys, and their locations are shown 
upon the map. 

The upper limit or western border of the Trinity sand runs nearly 
parallel with the basal or western line across Travis, Burnet, Lampasas 
and Brown counties. The width of the sand depends upon its topog- 


284 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


raphy, which is governed by the heavy beds of Glen Rose and Coman- 
che Peak limestone. These limestones extend for the most part to 
Within from one-fourth of a mile to two miles of the western border in 
wall-like escarpments which overlook the sand. Hence the surface is 
a stiffly inclined plane from the base of the limestone bluffs down to 
the Paleozoic border. In approaching the north line of Brown county, 


the width and thickness is found to be greatly increased, and the . 


Comanche Peak escarpment has been moved away from the Trinity 
border by the interposition of the Paluxy sands, leaving the Glen Rose 
limestone and marls, which have much decreased in thickness. From 
the northwest corner of Comanche county, which is also the northeast 
corner of Brown county, the eastern limit passes down the Leon river 
valley by Comanche to very near the junction of the north and south 
forks of Leon river. From the Leon river the line continues sub- 
parallel to the Paleozoic contact through Dublin, Erath county; near 
Hiner, two miles west of Lambert and Springtown, Parker county, 
and Cottondale, Wise county. ‘This contact crosses the Fort Worth 
and Denver Railway four miles northwest of Decatur. At this point 
the Trinity and Paluxy sands blend, but beyond this point, the summit 
of the Trinity sand cannot be determined by stratigraphic, lithologic, 
or paleontologic evidence. Opposite Decatur the parting between the 
two beds of sand is nearly midway between the base of the Freder- 
icksburg division and the Trinity-Paleozoic contact, and is believed to 
hold the relative position through the northern portion of Wise and 
Montague counties. 


A peninsula-like .extension of sand, with limestone capped table . 


lands and buttes, extends from the northwestern portion of Comanche 
county in anortherly direction across southern Eastland, northern 


Brown, and southeastern Callahan counties. The sand extends fully 


two hundred square miles in these counties. 

From Comanche county northward to Red River, the average width 
of the Trinity sand is about three miles. The areal extent of the 
whole of the Trinity along the western border of the main Cretaceous 
and north of the Colorado river cannot be, by the lowest estimate, less 
than twelve hundred square miles. 

TRINITY INLIERS, AREAS OF EROSION.—The dip of the rocks toward 
the southeast is little more than the grade of the country or the fall 
of the rivers which run approximately with the dip, hence the sands 
are exposed far down the sides and bases of the valleys, until the 
limestones occurring above them are brought to the river beds. 

Some of the creeks and rivers that have their source within the 
main Cretaceous area near the eastern boundary of the Trinity have 
cut down into the sand by their rapid erosion, yet they are rot able to 
maintain their position on the sand because of the two rapid dips of 
the rock, which carries them down to the stream beds again. By this 


a4 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 285 


process of erosion, depressed islands of Trinity sands have been formed 
in the interior of the Glen Rose, or Fredericksburg limestones. 

Such is the case in the region of the Lampasas, Paluxy and Bosque 
rivers, and other small streams. In the vicinity of Lampasas town, 
where the Trinity is thin, the Sulphur Fork of the Lampasas river has 
eroded not only into the Trinity, but through it, and is now upon a 
Carboniferous bed, and the Trinity conglomerate forms a border around 
the edge of the Paleozoic basin as described in the Lampasas—William- 
son section. 

The Paluxy valley, in Erath, Hood and Somervell counties presents 
an excellent illustration of a Trinity inlier. ‘The Paluxy has its source 
upon the Glen Rose limestone, and by its erosion has cut out a mag- 
nificent valley and exposed the Trinity sand for about twenty miles, from 
Morgan’s Mill, Erath county, to near Glen Rose, Somervell county, 
and from side to side of the valley; while at the same time it has formed 
a most fertile artesian well area. 

_In some cases these streams, which have a southeastward -flow, by 
their headwater erosion have cut across the Trinity-Glen Rose border, 
stolen finally the drainage of other creeks, and still hold their sources 
in the Trinity sand. 


THICKNESS AND CHARACTER.—The Trinity sand varies in thickness 
from nearly one hundred feet at the Colorado river, in the southeast 
corner of Burnet county, to a comparatively thin band of limestone 
conglomerate, where the contact crosses the north line of the county. 
As before stated, the areal extent of the Trinity across the county is 
small. Being composed principally of a coarse conglomerate and grit, 
derived from the Paleozoic crystaline rocks, it degrades but little easier 
than the overlying rocks, and it generally forms abrupt escarpments.* 

From the Burnet-Lampasas county line northward across Lampasas 
and Mills counties, the conglomerate increases very gradually in thick- 
ness, from thin bands to nearly one hundred feet. Grit and sand.is 
often interstratified in it, and the pebbles become smaller and more 
siliceous. The surface outcrops of the sand all the while becomes 
greater northward. As the south line of Brown county is approached; 
sand and grit largely replace the conglomerate, the latter occurring at 
the basal portion of the bed. Inthenorthern portion of Brown county 
the conglomerate element has nearly disappeared, being replaced by 
nearly two hundred feet of fine sand locally known as “packsand. es 


*All of the conglomerate which constitute the basal beds of the Cretaceous 
here is designated as Trinity, and forms a continuous bed, but is certainly not a 
contemporaneous deposit even across Burnet county. As was shown in the sec- 
tion, evidence was not wanting to show that the conglomerates in the northern 
part of the county were formed at a later period than was a portion of the Glen 


‘Rose (Alternating) limestones. 


286 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO, 


From Brown county to Red River the character of the sand is prac- 
tically unvariable. 

West of the main area Trinity sand occurs at the bases of and is 
parallel to the escarpments of the buttes and table lands located as 
follows: | 

Beginning in the southwest corner of Callahan county, west of 
Pecan bayou, a Cretaceous table land forms the water shed between 
the tributaries of the Brazos and Colorado rivers, across Taylor and 
Nolan counties, with an arm extending southeastward, from southwest 


Nolan county into Coke county, near Hayrick. Headwater erosion of . 


the tributaries of Elm Fork of the Brazos river and of the Jim Ned 
creek, which belongs to the Colorado river drainage, has cut two gaps— 
the Buffalo and Cedar—in this water-shed table land south of Abilene. 
Another area of Cretaceous rocks extend from Mora and Table moun- 
tains, in Runnells county, southeast into Coleman county, where it 
divides, one arm passing south of Hord’s creek to the Gulf, Colorado 
and Santa Fe Railway near Valera postoffice, and the other taking an 
easterly direction north of Hord’s creek, ending in Robertson Peak. 
Many of the creeks, with their branches, which have their source in 
this area, cut deep canyons and ravines that almost intersect the Cre- 
taceous rocks. Long, irregular, promontory-like masses extend from 
the body of the table land out between the creeks, some of which end 
in isolated knobs or collections of buttes. Someof the typical of these 
remnantal buttes may be named in Horse mountains, at the mouth of 
the canyon of the Yellow Wolf creek, in Coke county; Long mountain 
and Hayrick mountain, with many other unnamed buttes, between the 
valleys of nameless creeks further east in Coke county; Church moun- 
tain stands out as a prominent landmark, three hundred feet high, on 
the ‘‘Red Beds’’ of the Permian at the end of a long projecting horn 
between Oak and Fish creeks; Bald Eagle mountain, south of Buffalo 
Gap, and the mountain between Buffalo and Cedar gaps are remnants. 
from the erosion of Elm Fork of Brazos river and Jim Ned and Cedar 
creeks. Of the. same character of buttes are Castle and Hast moun- 
tains at the mouth of Mulberry canyon, Moro and Table mountains in 
Runnels county, and the T’ecumseh and Robinson’s peaks in Callahan 
county west of Pecan bayou. Besides these, there are many others 
unnamed, of greater or less importance. Many of them have been cut 
completely adrift, and stand isolated from the parent mass on Permian 
or Carboniferous strata, while others are only partially separated, being 


connected with the larger body of Cretaceous rock by low necks of 


Trinity sand. 
The Santa Anna mountain, in Coleman county, and the Double 
mountains, in Stonewall county, are examples of Cretaceous buttes, 


widely separated from the now shrunken parent area, yet still capped. 


$ 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 287 


by beds of Texana, Comanche Peak, and Caprina limestones. In these, 
as in many others, erosion has gone on until the level of the surround- 
ing country is below the base of the Trinity, leaving the Cretaceous 
portion of the buttes resting upon truncated cones of Carboniferous or 
Permian rocks. 

The Carboniferous-Permian contact passes beneath the Cretaceous 
area between Jim Ned creek and Pecan bayou, in a north to south di- 
rection, very near the east line of Taylor county. South of Jim Ned 
creek, it passes under the Trinity nearly one mile east of Content post- 
office, in Runnels county. East of this line the Trinity rests on Car- 
boniferous strata, while ‘to the west of it, Permian rocks underlie the 
Cretaceous. | 

Generally speaking, on the northwest sides of these Cretaceous: table 
lands and hills the Trinity has less areal extent than on the south and 
southeast sides, because of the more precipitous character of the bluffs 
and escarpment faces. Whenever the sand occurs on the north side, 
except in occasional remnantal buttes, where the limestone has been 
removed by erosion, Caprotina, or Comanche Peak limestone caps the 
Trinity and forms precipitous bluffs. The width of the Trinity expos- 
ure along the northern and western borders is rarely more than one- 
fourth of a mile; in many cases less. On the southern and eastern bor- 
ders, the face of the escarpment is not so precipitous, and the Trinity 
has greater width; sometimes, in the valleys of the streams, it is even 
two miles wide. 

The cretaceous rocks here, as elsewhere in the Central region, dip 
toward the southeast, which is the cause of the abrupt escarpments on 
the north and northwest sides and of rolling slopes on the south and 
southeast sides of the plateau. 

‘Extending in a northeasterly direction along the divide between the 
‘Elm Fork of the Brazos river and Hubbard creek from the Cretaceous 
highlands which follow the Permio-Cretaceous contact, is a stretch of 
rolling timber land ‘‘sand-roughs,’’ which are considered to belong to 
the Trinity. 

The whole length of the Trinity which belongs to these Cretaceous 
outliers is very nearly six hundred miles, with an average estimated 
width of one-half mile. By this low estimate there is an area of three 
hundred square miles of the sand. 

The sand varies in thickness from nearly sixty to one hundred and 
sixty feet. On the west side of the valley of Bitter creek, in Nolan 
county, it is one hundred and twenty feet thick, with a band of con- 
glomerate ten feet thick at the base. .In Church mountain it is ninety 
feet thick; in Horse mountain nearly due south of Bitter creek, it is 
one hundred and sixty feet thick. About ten miles west of Horse 
mountain there is only fifty feet. Thus it will be seen that the sand 
of the Trinity varies in thickness in different localities. In fact this 


288 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


difference in thickness is naturally to be expected, since a soft sand is 
laid down upon a hard, uneven surface. 

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE SAND.—There are two topographic phases. 
The first is decidedly characteristic of both the Trinity and Paluxy 
sands, and as far as the vision is reliable, is almost an unfailing index 
to the rock, but it is dependent upon the associated beds overlying for 
its characteristics, while the second phase is independent of environ- 
ments.such as those governing the first for its features. 

The first phase is represented in the escarpment faces and inthe 
steep and westward facing declivities wherever the upper limit of the 
Trinity is exposed south of the Trinity river along the main border. 
As the valleys of the Colorado, Leon, Brazos and Trinity rivers enter 
the area of the sand, the escarpments turn their faces toward the 
rivers from the west, toward the southwest on the north sides of the 
valleys, and from the west to a northeasterly direction on the south 


sides of the same valleys; and only along these rivers can the Trinity 
sands be said to form valleys. They form the eastern slope of a gen- | 


erally wide valley, however, which extends along Red River, in Mont- 
ague and Clay counties, southward across the valleys of the rivers to 
the Colorado. ‘Ihe upper portion of the Trinity sand, with the over- 
lying beds of limestone, forms a bluff with sloping base along the 
eastern summit of this valley. From this summit extensive views can 
be had across the thick forests of the Cross Timbers. Although >the 
Cross Timbers occupy this valley, yet the Trinity underlies only the 
eastern portion. From the base of this valley, which is nearly parallel 
to the Trinity-Paleozoic contact, a rolling country of wooded and 
prairie land begins rising gently toward the west. Near the eastern 
border timbered, bold topped buttes, limestone capped, rising from 
projecting spurs of the high land, ever stand as silent witnesses to the 


fact that they are remnants of beds that once extended over many 


thousand square miles of the ‘‘Denuded Area’’ toward the Staked 
Plains. Rapid denudation of the sand (more rapid than that of the 
overlying limestone) undermines the limestone and keeps an ever 
present escarpment, which is gradually moving eastward. ‘There are 


two laws which govern the character of the topography here repre-— 


sented: . The first is, that when a massive hard rock occurs in beds 
above a friable soft rock, bluff and slope topography is formed. ‘The 
second is, that asarule the hill side or mountain side opposite the 


direction of the dip of the rock is more precipitous than is the side in — 


the direction of the dip. Both of these characteristics are present and 
admirably illustrated in the topography along the main border, and 
in the table lands and buttes on the Colorado-Brazos divide, in Calla- 
han, Taylor, Runnels and Coleman counties, as already outlined for 
the occurrence of the Trinity sands. 

The second phase of the Trinity topography has a representative in 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. | 289 


the rolling ‘‘sand-roughs’’ found in northern Brown county, eastern 
Callahan and Hastland counties. A narrow belt of country similar in 
character extends northward between Elm Fork of Brazos river and 
Hubbard creek, in an irregular zone from the Cretaceous table land in 
the southeast corner of Taylor county. From these areas of sand the 
limestone that was once above them has been removed. Here the 
sand forms low oval hills, everywhere originally covered by a dense 
growth of dwarf oaks. The surface is generally level, very few of the 
hills being prominent. The term-rolling is very applicable to this 
phase of topography. A friable sand of variable thickness deposited 
upon a hard floor of Paleozoic rocks, and subjected to the action of the 
prevailing atmospheric agencies, has given this character of topography. 


GLEN ROSE (ALTERNATING) BED. 


EXTEN?T.—On account of the peculiar topography of the Alternating 
series, an exact delineation of their areal extent is not possible without 
more detailed field work than their importance will at present warrant. 
Every river and creek having its source near the Trinity sand, at the 
western border, as well as the more important rivers that rise west of 
the Cretaceous area, such as the Colorado, Leon, Brazos and Trinity 
rivers, that enter the Alternating lime-marls, cut deep.valleys down into 
and often through them. The rivers and some of the more important 
creeks flow across the alternating rocks and over higher beds to the 
southeast. The eastern limit of these beds intersects the Colorado 
river at Mount Bonnell, four miles west of Austin, and’ continuing 
northward crosses the principal river valleys as follows: 

San Gabriel river, twelve miles above Georgetown, Williamson 
county; Lampasas river, about twelve miles below Youngsport; Leon 
river, near the mouth of Plum creek, in Coryell county; the Bosque 
river valley, on Houston and Texas Central Railway, four miles west 
of Walnut, Bosque county; and the Brazos river, at the mouth’of Camp 
creek in the southwest corner of Johnson county. Near the contact, 
on the Leon river, timber appears upon the Paluxy sands between the 
Texana and the Alternating beds of the Fredericksburg and Bosque 
divisions respectively. It increases in importance and extent north- 
ward until it joins the timber belt of the Trinity sand in Wise county. 
The west edge of this timber belt, which is an arm of the Upper Cross 
‘Timbers, marks the eastern border of the Alternating series. The 
eastern limit of the main belt.of the Upper Cross Timbers, which is 
the upper and eastern border of the Trinity sands, marks precisely the 
western parting of the Alternating beds, from the Colorado river north- 
ward through their whole extent. 

Overlying the Alternating rocks on the divides between the principal 
of the valleys, beds of the Fredericksburg and Paluxy sand extend 
finger-like, from the main body of their respective beds in a northwest 


290 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


_ direction, in some cases to the bluffs above the Trinity on the western 
border. ‘Thus: the valleys are occupied by Alternating limestone and 
marl and Trinity sand, surrounded wholly or in part by higher beds. 
Very considerable portions of Travis, Burnet, Williamson, Lampasas, 
Coryell, Bosque, Hamilton, Erath, Somervell, and Hood counties are 


directly underlain by these rocks. Smaller areas, though of scarcely — 
less importance, occur in Bell, Mills, Brown, Comanche, Parker and Wise 


counties. 

THICKNESS AND GENERAL STRUCTURE. —From on their most south- 
ern extension, at Mount Bonnell, north of the Colorado river; the rocks 
of this bed continue to decrease in thickness along the line of exposure 
northward until they disappear between the Trinity and Paluxy sands, 
about the middle of Wise county. At this point the last representative 
of the limestone and marl series may be seen in a narrow band of fos- 
siliferous calcareous argillaceous sandstone from six inches to one foot 
thick, in the midst of less calcareous and argillaceous sandstone. For 
fifty feet above the fossiliferous strata, the sand layers show various 
degrees of compactness. ‘They are interstratified with bands of lignite 
and lignitic sand, and bear much silicified wood. Such exposures 
occur in a ravine near the Fort Worth and Denver Railway five miles 
northwest of Decatur. 

The strike of the rocks at Austin northward passes one hundred miles 
southeast of Decatur, in Wise county. From this it may be observed 
that the line of exposure of the Alternating beds, as well as of the 
other beds of the Lower Cretaceous series, is not parallel tu their strikes. 
Now, in going nearly due north 60 degrees west, perpendicular to the 
strike, from any point on the eastern border of the Alternating lime- 
stones, the rocks decrease more rapidly than they do in any other direc- 
tion. The average decrease in thickness, going north along the eastern 
outcrop, is nearly three feet per mile. The average decrease toward the 
west is nearly five feet per mile. Along the Colorado section (Plate IX), 
which is almost perpendicular to the strike, the rocks decrease nearly 
ten feet per mile toward the northwest. At Mount Bonnell the depth 
of the Alternating series is estimated at seven hundred feet. On Sandy 


creek, twenty-eight miles north 50 degrees west of Mount Bonnell, they — 


have a thickness of four hundred feet, making a decrease of nearly ten 
feet per mile. At Iredell, Bosque county, these rocks are four hundred 
feet thick, and at Mount Airy, Erath county, thirty-two miles north 
78 degrees west of Iredell, they are fifty feet thick, which makes a de- 
crease of ten feet and nine-tenths per mile, which direction is nearly 
opposite to the dip of the rocks. (Bosque section, Plate XI.) 


Beneath Comanche Peak, Hood county, the Alternating limestone and. 


marl is one hundred and fifty feet thick, and at Twin Mountain, thirty- 
six miles due west of Comanche Peak, the same bed is only five feet 
thick, giving a decrease of four and two-tenths feet per mile. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 291 


The importance of a thorough understanding of the rate of decrease 
in thickness of these beds from south to north, and of their structure, 
becomes apparent when the economics of artesian water are to be con- 
sidered. | 

TorpoGRAPHY.—Under a general consideration there is one phase of 
topography of the Glen Rose (Alternating) bed, ‘but when environ- 
ments, such as the effect of associated rocks, are brought to account 
there may be three phases. Two of these occur south of the southern 
limit of the Paluxy sand, while the third belongs to the tongue-like 
extension between the Trinity and Paluxy sand beds north of the Leon 
river. 

To one who is versed in geology and topography, and who has ob- 
served how certain topographic phases invariably follow the same geo- 
logic conditions, it is only necessary here to explain the geology, and 
the topographic picture will be clearly seen. When it has been stated 
that there are horizontal layers of comparatively soft limestones and 
still softer marly bands of varying thicknesses, from a mere band to 
from six to eight feet, following each other in quick succession and 
forming an elevated prairie land, a topographic picture of rolling hills 
and deep valleys, with parallel benches and terraces, which are gov- 
erned in height by the thickness of lime and marl beds, and which ex- 
' tend around the hills and valley slopes, is brought to view about as 
vividly as if one stood upon the field and the landscape lay before 
him. This bench and terrace topography is the leading phase of these 
beds. 

The two characters of this phase may be said to be accidental, be- 
cause when affected alone by atmospheric agencies the one phase pre- 
vails. South of the Leon river the heavy beds of the Fredericksburg 
check the rapid erosion of the Alternating limestones and cause them 
to form very precipitous slopes and almost to lose the beuch and terrace 
phase. When these superimposed heavy beds approach very near a 
valley of rapid erosion, as for instance when a creek or river in its wind- 
ing course cuts rapidly against its banks, the same thing is repeated at 
the base of the valley instead of the summit. When both these con- 
ditions are present this character is doubly pronounced, and it seems 
as if another character of rock had entered into the beds. 

This character of topography occurs in its greatest beauty along the 
valley of the Colorado river from Mount Bonnell to the western bor- 
der of Travis county, also along the San Gabriel and Lampasas rivers. 
It prevails to some extent in the valleys of some the smaller streams. 
- Where a hillside is. comparatively steep and smooth with precipitous 
bluffs, it must not be thought that a new character of rock has appeared. 
Instead of a change of rock there is to be considered a phase of topog- 
raphy. Mount Bonnell is a typical illustration of this. ‘The Colorado 
river has lately so encroached on its western side that very steep, and 


292 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO, 


in places impassable bluffs have been formed, obliterating the char- 
acteristic topographic phase of these beds. It is only necessary to 
follow the beds from the precipitous western face of this mountain 
around to its east side, or northward along the western slope of Mount 
Barker, to observe them change from the bluff to the bench and terrace 
character. It is north of the Colorado basin, toward the sources of the 
San Gabriel and the tributaries of the Lampasas river, that the second 
phase of the topography of the typical Alternating beds occurs. Here 
the beds of the Fredericksburg have, in the main, been removed, and 
the Alternating rocks are alone left to be eroded and worn in their 
peculiar form. It is here that the hills are sharply cut with an occa- 
sional conical knob, and with bench and terrace structured sides. 

Northward of the Leon river, where the Alternating limestones are 
inclosed between the Trinity and Paluxy sands, the same topography 
continues, but here it is not so characteristic outside of the rapid 
erosion-valleys of the rivers. Here the rocks above, viz: the Paluxy 
and Trinity sands have the same structure, and the Alternating rocks 
remain as a generally inclined plane between them. 


Figure 9. 


Topographic phases of Trinity, Glen Rose and Paluxy rocks north of Leon 
river. P. Paleozoic. a. Trinity phase. b. Paluxy phase. c. Glea Rose phase. 
d. Comanche Peak phase. 


PALUXY SAND BED. 


To delineate this bed is necessarily a recapitulation, at least in 
part, since full details of many localities on it have been given. How- 
ever, a general view of the bed with reference to its extent and im- 
portance will be of value. Pay 

POSITION.—Its position is at the top of the Bosque series, directly 
underlying throughout its extent the Texana bed. Between the Leon 
river anda point five miles northwest of Decatur it rests upon and 
grades gradually into the lime-marl of the Alternating bed, | 

From the above named point to Red River it joins the Trinity sand 
without a perceptible division line. North of the Alternating bed ex- 
tension, at every point of its occurrence, it separates the Trinty bed 
from the Texana bed, the basal bed of the Fredericksburg division. 
The Paluxy sand is considered to be represented in the upper half of 
the Cretaceous and beneath the Fredericksburg west of the main 
Cretaceous border. 


“% 
vias 
etre) « 


\ 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 293 


EXxTENT.—On the north side of the Colorado river valley, near the 
source of Hickory creek (Hickory Creek Section), a narrow belt of 
sand occurs just beneath the Texana bed; but, as this narrow bed ex- 
tends toward the east, it soon changes into an arenaceous limestone. 
This same sandy bed is present in the same corresponding position be- 
neath the Texana bed in Bachelor’s Peak near the northeast corner of 
Burnet county. . Here, too, it becomes more calcareous toward the east, 
and finally blends into an arenaceous limestone. Beneath Bachelor’s 
Peak it is a calcareous and argillaceous sandstone fifteen feet thick. 
The Paluxy bed cannot be positively distinguished from the Alterna- 
ting rock until the valley of the Leon river is reached. Here, near the 
eastern limit of Comanche county, the sand is nearly fifty feet thick; 
but on passing down the valley to its most easterly exposures near 
Jonesboro, Coryell county, it thins out to a narrower band, fifteen feet 
thick.* At Dublin, and along the Bosque river valley toward Walnut, 
Bosque county, it is fifty feet thick. Beneath Comanche Peak it is 


_ one hundred feet thick. At Weatherford, Parker county, there is one 


hundred and twenty feet of sand, and near Decatur, Wise county, it 
has reached a grand development of one hundred and eighty feet. 
Northward, beyond this point, its lower limit could not be located, but 
there is no doubt that the development continues northward along the 
western border toward the pre-Cretaceous interior. 

GENERAL, CHARACTERS.—As a whole, the Paluxy bed is a body of 
homogeneous, fine-grained, porous, compact, but not indurated sand, 
bearing an abundant fossil flora in the form of silicified and lignitized 
wood. In detail it is false-bedded on an extensive scale, and often 
finely and beautifully laminated. Lenticular bands of impure clay . 
occur with lignitic sand in like form. ‘The basal position of the sand 
becomes calcareous, and dimension flags of compact shell-limestone 
occur in the marly sand. Near its upper limit the sand becomes argil- 
laceous in some localities and occasionally there are quite pure clays. 

TOPOGRAPHY.—With few exceptions there is only one phase of to- 
pography represented upon the Paluxy sand. Except on an occasional 
highland, such as occurs north of the Paluxy creek valley, in Hood 
county, where higher beds have been eroded, Fredericksburg limestones 
occur above the friable sand. 

Thus we have the topography peculiar to beds of friable sand pro- 
tected by compact limestone above steep slopes, upon the upper por- 
tion, and a gradual decline in the grade toward the base of the sand. 
The hard limestones tend to retard the eastward tendency to erosion, 
and the consequence is that the erosion of the sand is greater beneath 
the bluffs and steep slopes of the Texana, Comanche Peak, and Ca- 
prina beds than it is near the lower limit. 


* R. T. Hill in Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Vol. No. 2, page 
510. 


294 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


As soon as the ground in this upper sand portion becomes bare of 


turf and timber growth, the ever loose soil and sand is cut into gullies 
and rapidly removed to the lower gently-rolling portion, where the cur- 
rents are checked or lost in the sand and a part at least of the sand is 
allowed to remain for a period. ‘This phase of topography is charac- 
teristic of the Paluxy sand from the Leon river, in Hamilton county, 
along the escarpment of the Upper Cross Timbers, through Dublin, 
Erath county; thence down the Bosque river valley to a point nearly 
south of Walnut; thence in a tortuous line, through Hrath county, 
around the Bosque and Brazos river divide, to the Brazos river at the 
southwest corner of Johnson county; from this point northward, through 
Acton, Parker county; Weatherford, Veal’s Station, and Dido, Parker 
county, on the Trinity river; thence through Decatur, Wise county; 
Forestburgh; St. Joe, Montague county, to Red River north of Bulcher, 
Cooke county. The same character of tupography characterizes the 
Paluxy sand around every Cretaceous outlier between the Upper Cross 
Timbers and the Staked Plains. 

Where overlying rocks have been removed from a.considerable area, 
the surface is rolling and covered with timber. 


DETAILED SECTION OF THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 


These sections are intended to show, briefly, the structural, physical 
and dynamical features of the rocks, as well as the relations of the 
Trinity, Glen Rose (Alternating) and Paluxy beds to each other, as 
shown principally from a stratigraphic point of.view. 
_ The graphic representations, given in a series of linear sections, 

show generally the contact, dip, thickness and faulting of the beds to 
scale, together with detailed columnar sections, also drawn to scale, 
each opposite its point on the profile. The relative adjustment of the 
columnar sections is arbitrary, and no reference is had to their differ- 
ences in elevation. . 

Much aid was obtained in the field from the topographic sheets of 
the United States Geological Survey and from railway elevations. 
Vertical and horizontal measurements were made with barometer and 
pedometer, checked by the United States sheets; and compass and 
clinometer were employed to ascertain dips and strikes of the rocks. 
Outside of the area occupied by the United States topographic sheets, 
the railway profiles were employed as a basis of horizontal and vertical 
“measurements, and these profiles were supplemented by the pedometer 
and barometer. At the point of each columnar section the rocks were 
studied closely, in detail, from the lowest to the highest elevation. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 295 


THE COLORADO SKCTION. 


Beginning at the junction of Hamilton and Hairston creeks, in 
Burnet county, the section was extended south 50 degrees east, passing 
the asylum for the insane, in North Austin, and ending near the Colo- 
rado river, southeast of the city. — ; 

A short distance below the mouth of Hairston creek Hamilton creek 
passes over the edge of Silurian limestones, to soft Carboniferous 
shales. At this point the Colorado section begins. Here heavy Silu- 
rian limestones dip 70 degrees south 60 degrees east. The Carbonifer- 
ous shales, with occasional bands of flaggy Carboniferous sandstones 
resting on these Silurian rocks, continues beneath the Cretaceous con- 
glomerate of the Trinity bed. 

SECTION NO. 1. ‘ 

Hickory creek section begins with the Colorado river level, at the 
mouth of Hickory creek and continues to the top of the divide between 
Hickory and Cow creeks. 

1. Laminated flaggy sandstones and friable light blue clay of the Car- 
° boniferous (Coal Measures) formation, from the Colorado river 
level upward to the base of the Trinity conglomerate, the lam- 
inated sandstones containing prints of ferns, nearly ...... 100 feet. 
Trinity Bed. 
2. Basal Trinity conglomerate of pebbles of limestone, quartz, chert, 


granite and schist, well rounded in a cement of ferruginous yel- 
Seba CCNGSA Lt VRC Bet ee Tern ii Ea gS ay oa am oe pe 50 feet 


Some of the pebbles at the base are from four to six inches in diam- 
eter. ‘They decrease in size, however, upward from the base, until we 
obtain a false-bedded calcareous shell grit at the top. 


3. Bands of friable bluish shale and calcareous sand, stratified. Frag- 

ments of oyster shells are common in the calcareous sandstone. 15 feet. 
4, Brecciated grit, composed of worn fragments of oyster shells and 

shells of other mollusca, with sand and fine pebbles, stratified in’ 

oP NESSUS gi aay 80 ROR 5 Oa BEE hg eee Ofer, 
5. Ostrea beds, magnesian lime cement, fossils ew masse. ...... 3 feet, 
6. Cross-bedded shell breccia, containing many small rounded grains 

and pebbles of quartz, flint and granite sand. Fossils: 7rigonza 


i and siiath pivalwes, and aN 1InmMONTE owe ie bee eS oe 7 feet. 
7. Friable yellow sand. ..:. . Poa Sit ig, Sonate oh eae cee ee, SO teat, 
8. Redsand, unconsolidated. ..... “ages CRW vee ats) 3 feet. 


9. Conglomerate similar in character to No. 2, saith the exception that 
the pebbles are smaller and more worn, grading into sand be- 


idweniideintocalcareaus sand above #25". sf ie ok (ae bakes te ape feet. 
iim vellow calcareous Sania strated. oo. oe ye me ie 15 feet. 
11. Calcareous sand at base, grading upward to a siliceous limestone at 

igen), Wee re TLC PeLOS SINS Cem (ea: Cal a tot La ed a, Ween ere Red eas Fok s 55 feet. 
Momma thy Anag MesIATE IIES TOME ht V7s% jr. 2. wa ve) Sa yy e eke amet nenln ts 0s 40 feet. 


13. Bands of conglomeritic and calcareous sandstone, alternating with 
beds of arenaceous limestone, the arenaceous limestone predom- 
SEIN ee eee ain a ey aa sos. oa Pe Rees rer nie seo: 40 feet. 


296 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 
RS secs eS 
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THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 297 


The sandstone contains grains of silica, from the size of a pea to the 
most minute particle, and small subangular fragments of clay in the 
cement of lime. 

Glen Rose (Alternating) Bed. 

Pee AMCStONC? WII IM ORODIEUNT’ ).) 2 lS eee eral 8. 3 feet. 
15. Magnesian limestone, with bivalves, pastere pote aid ind: ee teek 
16. Limestone, containing abundant Caprotina (Requienia) penguiscula. 7 feet. 
17. Barren arenaceous limestone, in beds varying in thickness and 

Hardwess 54 San. oa o Cee wig. 1 U0 teCE: 
18. Thin bands of ieseene ain hone pate 10 feet. 
19. Barren yellow limestone, twenty feet; narrow ede or Be iate 

limestone, five feet; heavy magnesian limestone, with magnesian 


. sulphide formed on protected surfaces, twenty feet. .... 45 feet. 

20. Thin pvedded, yellowish limestone, slightly arenaceous, Sagat ina 
Rett eG. Of CalCALCOUM Sane 6 Ss 7 em cee OO TERE 
21. Thin bands of argillaceous, marly fester + PL Sh een ae ROL ee Es 
22. Calcareous sandstone, in thin strata, without face dha ede tn! he 9. ed RY Coed 


Fredericksburg. 


23. Exogyra texana bed, chalky crumbling limestone, with Gryphea 
pitchert, Hxogyra texana, Toxaster texana, Holectypus platanus, 
(ONTOMT AU DAtItRHEHULANUNE Wg sn ele ee feet 
24. Comanche Peak bed, chalky massive tpteatotic:. Big ie ee 
Twenty feet of the limestone at the top of this section is massive and 
nearly pure. 


SECTION NO. 2 
The Travis Peak section was made, beginning at the junction of 
Post Oak and Cow creeks, below Travis Peak postoffice, and ending at 
the top of Travis Peak. 
Trinity Bed. 
1. False-bedded gritty shell limestone, beginning at the Ostrea 
Jranklini bed and continuing downward to the lower ee one 
ate of No. 2 of the Hickory creek section . 


2. Ostrea franklini bed, masses of O. Elba in magnesian line 
GOINEIL O55) Vict. Late Saved Loeb: 


Where this ed is rocecten fon apis erosive agencies, salts of 
magnesia attack atid disintegrate the fossils. 
3. Finely comminuted shell breccia limestone, false-bedded .... . 2% feet. 


Quantities of siliceous sand and grit occur in the shell breccia, the 
particles of which increase in size and number from the base upward 
to the conglomerate. ‘The Trigonia and associated fossils (except the 
Ammonites which are rare) given in the same bed, No. 6, of Hickory 
creek section, occur on Cow creek in great abundance. 

4. Purple and red calcareous and argillaceous fine compact sand, at 
base ten to fifteen feet thick, varying in character, color and 
thickness of strata, succeeded by varying beds of friable sands 
and grits, clear, or iron stained. These sands, toward the center 
of the bed, blend with a conglomerate, which in turn grades into 
compact calcareous sand at the top; total thickness of bed.. . . 60 feet. 


EE 


298 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Glen Rose (Alternating) Bed. 


5. Blue clay and argillaceoussand ... . oo. eo 
6. Heavy beds of calcareous magnesian de Cah sao thates ah geodes 
of dog-tooth spar’... . ) 1). 3 ee ee 


Under overhanging cliffs and ledges of rock where the surface is 
protected from the weather, flocculent powder of magnesia sulphate is 
formed. 


7. _Magnesian argillaceous sandy limestone, .-. 3) .4. 2). .9. eee 
8. Limestone, in thin beds with Wonopleura... . Sere 
9. Thinly bedded limestone, with Caprotina (eee 0 Se 
10. ’Galcareous shaly sandstone? 7) py ee eee og eae ee ee 
ll. Stratified magnesian calcareous sane by Becki oss 3 Gaui Sige eigenen) 
Tt LAMIESLONE 4.3 9", MRAP Nee ke 
13. Thin bands of aE ievaseones ariaft Exogyra' sp ind and Gonto- 

L870 ee. ;. *etteets 
14. Arenaceous Pea fanestonel ree Ne eet ‘Mots bonBAee imestonel 

in thinner and more persistent beds, twenty-three feet . .. . 38 feet. 
15.- Limestone, with Ostrea 5. +. wi eee 
16. Arenaceous and argillaceous marie sat eletunee aRee tiem in 

thin bedsyy-eeny . 80 feet. 


17. Marly, slightly avatlaceone iciestoue eee is aie feel ieee iy 
ternating with thinner bands of harder and more arenaceous 
limestone. The harder bands project from the hillsides and 
form Denthée 7a ee J ie Gy 200 Siaee 


Magnesian limestones occur in Wate bed, put nee lines could not be 
drawn, as one grade of limestone blends into another. 


Fredericksburg. 


18. Gryphea pitcheri and Exogyra texana in marly crumbling lime- . 
stone or lime marl... ... So neg 1 eee 
19. Comanche Peak piace ifieeere te the'd cap eck i iran Peak... 20 feet. 


SECTION NO. 3. | 
The Sandy creek section begins at the Colorado river level at the 


mouth of Sandy creek, and continues to the top of the butte one mile 
from the river. 


1. Very fine-grained calcareous sand, laminated and stratified, 


eisily splitting into flagstones along the lamination lines. . 30 feet. 
2. Friable calcareous shale, rapidly disintegrating, and forming 

cavities beneath hard limestone... . wie 4 feet. 
3. Massive blue limestone, containing uae ie opienre, eles 4 feet. 


This is the same bed as No. 14 of Section No. 1, and No. 8 of Section 
No. 2. 


4, LIjimestone, even-bedded...... 22 feet. 
5. Soft calcareous clay, contagrines numerous Goniolina, age 

small bivalves, and gasteropods..... . Sher 20 feet. 
6. Massive yellow semi-crystaline arenaceous eererias fe Fee 40 feet. 


7. Calcareous clay,bearing numerous foraminifera, Gontolinu and 
AVCANEY 08 Sy a ee oe A ee rr ee ane, 5 feet. 


THIRD ANNUAL REPORT. PLATE X. 


PALEOZOIC 


TERTIARY 


a 
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_ GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS. 
98°30" 


; ; q i 
Peay Gtey Py TT Ose Leaee ¢ thu 


aprons, pph7.te103 


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15. 


16. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 


299 
Porous granular limestone, earthy yellow colored, variable 

in thickness of layer and in persistence in weathering . 150 feet. 
Thin-bedded limestone, with fragments of Ostrea subquadrata. 1 foot, 
Limestones, similarin character to No. 8, in variable shades of 

yellow on fresh fracture. Jt shows varying degrees of resist- 

OS lg Lat a Era MS = 40 feet. 
Thin sheets of limestone, atte Mavopletaa Ph wy) 2. tO. 3 feet, 
Alternating bands of limestone, similar to that of Mol 10. 60 feet. 
Thin-banded limestones, with gasteropods, echinoids, 7rigonia 

EE IU RO ES ay ie eg ka) ok ee a 2 feet. 
Alternating beds of impure arenaceous and marly limestone, 

similar to Nos. 10 and12. . 100 feet. 


Fredericksburg. 

Crumbling marly limestone, bearing Grvyphea pitcheri and 
Eeogyra texana, with associated echinoids and foramini- 
3) ae 
Comanche Peak chalky Redesign, with massive Reds tent 
feettnickiat the Upperedge.:. . . 


ONO Be ela ce) ee 


SECTION NO. 4. 


ARE ce : . 10 to 15 feet. 


60 feet. 


Beginning at the mouth of Bull creek, the Mount Barker section 


continues to the top of Mount Barker, at the mouth of Colorado river 
canyon, four miles west of Austin. 


Ls 


a we) 


Granular arenaceous light gray limestone and calcareous sand- 
stone, in thick beds, from the river level upward : 

Massive white limestone, filled with Ordztolina texrana, Hsanterne 

Slightly arenaceous, marly, white compact limestone . 

Argillaceous, friable and hard limestone,containing nodules ore au- 
hydrite . 


limestone: 


5. 


6. 
iF 
8 


14, 


Shaly, thin-banded, arenaceous limestone, with Monopleura . 

Impure light brown limestone, in thick beds . 

Compact light yellow, massive, or thick-bedded ected 

Goniolina bed; soft marly limestone, with many specimens of Gon- 
LOUL iA at ke 

Thin and thick iivecs Bg are sha dace mottled ad fight yellow 
limestone, composed largely of minute shell fragments. . . 

Mass of small bivalve fossils in yellow arenaceous limestone . 

Compact fine-grained limestone, in ledges, varying in Sue of 
hardness . 

Fossiliferous yellow eestone. oniposed a srriat Beeires | in mass 
of shell fragments and lime . 

Alternating, slightly arenaceous, avd! ia hulene ener iectone: 
light blue to yellow in color, some of the bands having an oolitic 
appearance . «hes 

Yellow, porous, arenaceous Patiantane a uigetnes BE ntctone. in 
ledges, varying in thickness from two and three feet’ to two and 
three inches. . 


18 feet. 
20 feet. 
20 feet. 


10 feet. 


The lower portion is oe but the upper portion is hard bone atiae 


1 foot. 
10 feet. 
50 feet. 
2 feet. 


25 feet. 


niet cree. 


50 feet. 


3 feet. 


50 feet. 


ee, ne ots Oa 


800 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Geodes and nodular masses of Celestite occur abundantly in the 
lower portion of this bed. ‘The Celestite beds of Mount Bonnell be- 
long to this rock. 


15. Fossiliferous, semi-crystaline, compact and fine grained limestone, 


in vvellow and white bandsS!77 iy wes tia sos vine 15 feet., 
16. Marly friable limestone, with abundant Gryphea pitcheri and F2- 

ogyra tevana with echinoids and Gomiolina. .......... 10 feet. 
17. Chalky Comanche Peak limestone, with massive beds at the top. . 75 feet. - 


At the mouth of Comb’s Hollow, about four miles southeast of Travis 
Peak postoffice, the Ostrea franklini horizon, No. 5 and No. 2 of Sec- 
tions No. 1 and No. 2, approach the low water line of the river. Here 
the conglomerate of No. 9 and No. 4, of Sections No. 1 and No. 2, is 
represented by a thick bed of grit and calcareous sand. ‘The vertical 
section of the Alternating bed here, as well as that of others on Camp 
creek northwest of Smithwick Mills, and on Cypress creek below Ander- 
son’s Mill, are repetitions of the section given above, with exception of 
slight variations in lithologic features. 

Froin these observations the facts are conclusive: 

1. That the Gryphea bed and the overlying Fredericksburg beds, 
throughout their exposures in this section, are persistent in every par- 
ticular and do not vary in thickness. 

2. That the calcareous sand with other arenaceous strata beneath the 
Texana bed in vertical section No. 1 changes to arenaceous and purer 
limestone, and increases in thickness of strata toward the southeast: 

3. That the strata of the Trinity bed blend and shade into the 
overlying rocks of the Glen Rose bed so imperceptibly that the line 
of demarkation between them is not discernible, and that the material 
composing the conglomerate and grit, No. 9 and No. 4 of Sections 
No. 1 and No. 2, decrease in size, and grade into grit and calcareous 
sand, until the conglomerate disappears beneath the level of the river, 
near Sandy creek, toward the southeast. 

4. And that the Glen Rose bed, as a whole, is here lenticular in 
form, and that if these beds were restored toward the west for a dis- 
tance of fifty miles, the Trinity would approach the T’exana bed. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 301 


BOSQUE SECTION. 


The section from which the division takes its name, and which com- 
Prises the three beds in typical development, was begun at the base of 
the Trinity sands, ten miles west of Dublin, Erath county, and con- 
tinued eastward along the Houston and Texas Central Railroad to the 
_ top of Comanche Peak bed, near Walnut, Bosque county. 

The profile of the section is the level of the railway, which practi- 
cally marks the line of lowest exposure of the rocks. From Alexan- 
der to Walnut the section,line is in the valley of the Bosque river, and 
the rocks from the center to the sides of this valley were studied to- 
gether with those of its medial portion. 

Between the Leon river, the western limit of the section, and Walker’s 
branch, the Carboniferous rocks are exposed. ‘They consist of a series 
of pale blue clays, sandy clays and bands of finely laminated sand- 
stone. ‘The clays are friable and erode easily, while the sandstone be- 
neath is heavy and indurated. In immediate contact with the base of 
the Trinity sands there are reddish, gritty sands, and fine red, shaly 
sand, nearly horizontally bedded. ‘The shaly sand contains light blue 
splotches. A marked resemblance between this sand and some of the 
red sand beds of the Permian near Buffalo Gap, in Taylor county, is 
noticeable. Resting unconformably on these beds, the Trinity sands 
begin with’a coarse conglomerate of pebbles and sand. ‘The prevail- 
ing pebbles are white and pink quartz, brown and red quartzite, black 
and white jasper, subangular in shape; and there are occasionally large 
worn pebbles of conglomerate, composed in part of pebbles similar to 
those in the bed. Great quantities of silicified wood, in the form of 
fragments of trunks and branches of trees, occur near the base of this 
Trinity conglomerate, some of them being of several hundred pounds 
weight. This conglomerate continues upward for nearly twenty feet, 
the pebbles growing less and less in size, until the conglomerate be- 
comes a fine yellow ‘‘pack-sand.”’ 

The outcrops and widths of the exposures of the different beds from 
the Carboniferous to the Texana beds may readily be observed by ref- 
erence to the section. 

The three beds which form the Bosque division are typical in their 
forms and exposures along the line of this section, and on each side of 
the valley of the Bosque river. The selected vertical sections well 
illustrate, in detail, their occurrence and relations. 

SECTION NO. 1. 

The Dublin section includes the rocks of the Bosque division from 

the base of the Trinity bed upward to the Texana bed at their western 


extension near Dublin. 
Trinity Bed, 
1. Conglomerate of pebbles and sand, which decrease in size from 
small bowlders at the bottom to fine grains of sand at the top. 20 feet. 


es Pte ee 


302 


CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF 


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THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 303 


Silicified wood occurs abundantly near the base, with scattering frag- 
ments still higher up in the beds. ‘The large pebbles in masses are 
found near the base only, while above this a fine, yellow, siliceous sand 
forms the body of the rock. 


2. Compact, fine, friable sand, often false-bedded, with thin bands 
Pagmenses Ol impure, Clays. 60. 0 8 ee pte 80 feet. 


Thin layers of lignitic material occasionally occur in the clay, and 
also fragments of lignitized wood. Fragments of silicified wood rarely 
occur in the sand. 


3. Very calcareous, fucoidal sandstone, in ledges, partially indu- 
AEC. Sah by We Aled Dae ol A arc ae ena ne 20 feet. 


In this horizon of the sand, and especially in the upper portion of it, 
there are nodules of iron sandstone, some of which have cavities at 
their centers filled with fine loose sand. ‘This ore is of no commercial 
value. 

The Trinity sand proper is a fine quartz sand, clear white to pale red 
in color. In the clearest sand, however, there are minute grains of 
colored material. The sand is almost invariably false-bedded. In. 
places the beds are several feet in thickness, and when seen in a small 
exposure they might be considered as massive. At other places the 
sand is minutely false-laminated with thin wedges of lens-shaped 
masses of sandy clay or nearly pure clay, generally light blue in color. 
Associated with this impure clay are occasional patches and thin bands 
of lignite and lignitic clay. No fossils except the silicified wood and 
lignite were found in the sand proper. 


Glen Rose Bed, 


4, Jjmestone of finely comminuted shells, with a thin band of 
Bysetsy ie org LC ohuie 128 55 ea] at 18 £1 a nr a eye Anta ae Fe 10 feet. 


Ostrea camelinis occurs at the contact of No. 3 and No. 4. 


5. Alternating marly lime and hard limestone... ........ 40 feet. 


The marly lime predominates. It occurs in beds from five to fifteen 
feet, while the hard limestone is from one foot to five feet in thickness. 
Numerous specimens of Arca, Zrigonia crenulata (2?) and gasteropods 
occur near the lower portion of this bed, also Hxogyra sp. ind. and a 
small oyster. Most of the limestone ledges contain small fragments of 
oysters and other shells, and are hardened into semi-crystaline lime- 
stone. ‘These hard ledges project from the hillside and form benches, 
while the marly and more readily disintegrated lime is being removed 
by erosion. 

iregr Ld att INISICe LOUGH. Ws leaie been it elias =) see aa 5 feet. 


A thin band of Hxogyra sp. ind. and oyster shells occurs in contact 
with this limestone. 


304 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 

fo pene yalimestone .... 5. 3) \) \. eer ene Paphe oh iin iactee hea 6 feet. 

Sa Harcshell limestone .... . MRS) Smeeieery, cen yt, sone enone 5 feet. 

9. Band of small Zxvogyra and Ostreain mass.......... 6 inches. 
10. Lime marl at base, grading upward into sandy marl atthetop. 30 feet. 


This is the transition horizon from the Alternating series to the Paluxy 


sands. 
Paluxy Sand. 


11. Cross-laminated, false-bedded, fine-grained sand, with occa- 
sional thin lenticularsseams Of,Clayor.s 2): eee eee 50 feet. 
This sand is white, yellow and pink, and in every respect resembles 
that of No.2. It is false-stratified and laminated, containing lenticular 
bands and lenses of clay. ‘The component particles of sand of each are 
so closely identical that they point to the same origin. Beautiful ex- 
posures of this sand were seen in the banks of the creeks to the east 
and west of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway three miles. south 
of Dublin. 


Texana Bed. 
12. Marly lime, grading upward sharply into limestone of the Tex- 
ana bed... 24:05 Ss a on ee a ga a 5 to 10 feet. 
13. Texana bed, full thickness not exposed. Gryphea pitcheri, Ex- 
ogyra tewana, Trigonia crenulata occur abundantly .......... 
Eastward from Dublin a descent is made from the Hxogyra bed to 
the Paluxy sand, and from this sand, in turn, to the Alternating series 
in the valley of Green’s creek. ‘The erosion of Green’s creek has car- 
ried the sand away and cut into the Alternating rocks nearly one hun- 
dred and fifty feet. 


SECTION NO. 2. 


The Iredell section comprises the beds from the Trinity sand below 
Iredell to the Caprina limestone capping Johnston’s Peak, three miles 
south of Iredell. 

Glen Rose Bed. 
1. Alternating limestones, from the Trinity bed to the level of the Bos- 
que river atvIredell): (520s teat memer bei alate, (ra soa) ong ‘. 2) SOO Feet 

An artesian well, three hundred and seventy-five feet deep, penetra- 
ted the limestone beneath the town. The base of the well touches the 
‘Trinity sand, from which an abundant supply of water is obtained. 


2. Blue calcareous shale, at the bed of the river, one-fourth mile above 


Iredell, exposed : ..\./.2) Ace ae eh od a ee 2 feet. 

Fragments of lignite and particles of iron pyrites occur in this shale. 

3. Small Osivédiand: 70g9'74,410 SASS eee 2, enue 6 in. to 1 foot. 
4. Alternating bands of thick marly lime and thin hard ledges of 

semi-cryétalline shell limestonei awe ee iss.) Gees 40 feet. 


Arca and small Ammonites allied to A. pedernales (Roemer), and 
Nerinea occur abundantly in the marly lime. Fragments of oysters 
and other shells compose the mass of the hard strata. , 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. | . 305 


Mamimestone, 2 .270pyra very numerous. 2). Cie ee a 5 feet. 
6. Marly sand, gradating upward into calcareous indurated and fria- 


bletsand-andimpute clay >... ....-.. Bee yn 2 eee 20 feet. 
The sand and impure clays are interstratified. — 
ween kee cr yatalline:shell limestone,» 2... wees gs ce) 1 to 2 feet. 
Paluxy Bed, 
HUES SOS US RYT ees Ca ie Sik Se eR ce oi ae 40 feet. 


The structure of this aaa is ticles the same as of that in the 
Dublin section. At the upper edge, and extending down nearly thirty 
feet, there are considerable quantities of nodular ferruginous sandstone: 
Many nodules have cavities at the center filled with loose fine sand, in 
the same manner as the nodules occurring beneath the alternating 
group west of Dublin. See No. 5, Dublin section. 


Texana Bed. 


9. Marly limestone with abundant Gryphea pitcheri, Exogyra 
CEOS BIAS MOT GIs I LN EN 9 EAT a TE SRNR 30 feet. 


The Gryphea form massive rocks at the upper part of the horizon. 


10. Chalky argillaceous limestone, with a few Gryphea pitcheri . . 30 to 40 feet. 
ll. Second Gryphea pitcher horizon. Fossils in mass and small. 1 to 3 feet. 
12. Chalky limestone eS eae eee pate cy bt 15 feet. 


oy wer! wk) reqstrae:! <8 oe tie 


This limestone weathers into Bait suis angular balls and yellow 
marl. 


13. Third Gryphea pitchert horizon. The fossils are small and in 


RIMS eCHICN COLD VERIO NN yl oA Rat ay he ore 2 to 3 feet. 

14. Argillaceous, soft, bituminous lime marl, cream colored to blue. 5 feet. 
15. Chalky limestone, with large Hxogyra texana, Towaster texanus, 

RELI OLCE? V071S. 7) GQLUS I ANOUVGEICA «i. Ae SP ea 5 to 6 feet. 

16. Comanche Peak bed; compact chalky limestone ....... 60 feet. 


Ten feet of indurated chalky limestone forms the cap rock of John- 
ston’s Peak. 

No. 10 of this section is the horizon designated as Walnut clays by 
R. T. Hill.* As the marly lime disintegrates, a yellow plastic marl is 
formed. As to the Hxogyra texana, it occurs through the Texana beds 
from the Paluxy sand to the Comanche Peak chalky limestone, which 
may be seen two miles west of Dublin, at Johnston’s Peak, two miles 
west of Walnut, where the Hxogyra texana comes in contact with the 
sand, and at numerous other localities. 

The Texana bed, as a whole, is a lime marl, fossiliferous from bottom 
to top, varying from a soft marl to a hard rock. 


SECTION: NO. 3. 


The Walnut section was constructed in ascending order from the 
base of the Paluxy to the Caprina bed. 


* Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Vol. II, p. 512. 


306 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Paluxy Bed. 


s 
1. Paluxy sand—fine laminated and stratified, white to yellow 


Mpdek-Sand” * 2022 2. [Ren mee ae a 50 feet. 
Large segregations.of ia grate sand having a quartzitic texture, oc- 
cur in the upper portion of this bed. 


Texana Bed. 
2. Thick marly lime and thin compact limestone alternating .. . 30 feet. 


In the compact strata the Gryphwa pitcheri fossils form the mass of 
the rock. In the upper layers of like character, which occur in the 
banks of the branch on the west side of Walnut, there is scarcely suffi- 
cient lime matrix to cement the fossils. The marly lime strata contain 
Grypheu and Exogyra in less numbers, but they contain many Am- 
monites, Arcopagia texana, Cardium hillanum, Natica, and Trigonia 
crenulata, Hxogyra texana occurs in abundance.at the base. 

3. Marly limestone, probablyfargillaceous 2). ee 30 feet. 


On first exposure it appears to be a whitish Bh haley limestone. 


4. Second Gryphea horizon—compact limestone in thin layers with 


numerous smalliGryphwa pucher?® ao) . eee ae ee 1 to :3 feet, 
5. Marly lime,’sanie as Nov Sia cceenticwet ene «ee ee ee 25 feet. 
6. Third Gryphea horizon, same in character of rock and fauna as 

No. 4 ee Ng oo ig 1 foot to 6 in. 


7. Chalky limestone, becoming more massive dneaeel It contains 
large Hvagyra texana, Toxvaster texranus, Holectypus planatus, 


Cardium hillanum and Arcopagia ...... Wa eee See AO to toeieew 
Comanche Peak Bed. 
8.,, Comanche Peak chalky limestoneeie eee) 6 ce eee eee 60 feet. 


The line between No. 7 and No. 8-cannot be clearly defined, since 
one grades into the other lithologically. 


Caprina Bed. 
9. Caprina chalky limestone caps the mountain south of Walnut . 30 feet. 

Caprina RACE (Roemer) and Caprotina sp. ind. occur in this 
limestone. 

It is a valuable fact that the changing condition of the upper Alter- 
nating beds toward the Paleozoic area, as indicated in the Colorado 
section, is clearly and beautifully illustrated in the Bosque section. In 
the Hickory Creek section, No. 1 of the Colorado section, a bed of 
sandstone is foreshadowed in horizon No. 22, which is a calcareous 
sandstone, and which decreases in percentage of siliceous material 
toward the southeast in vertical sections Nos. 2, 3 and 4. In the Bosque 
section this culminating Alternating horizon has a full representative 
in the Paluxy sand bed, into which the same Alternating beds grade 
through a horizon of siliceous lime marl. The Paluxy sand is a 
marked feature of the Bosque section, and has sufficient prominence to 
be characterized as a bed. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 307 


Another fact is worthy of notice, viz: that the Ostrea camelinis (MS. 
of Cragin), occurring in the middle of what was considered the Trinity 
conglomerate of the Colorado section, No. 2 of Travis Peak section, is 
found in the Bosque section near Mount Airy at the base of the Glen 
Rose (Alternating) bed. It may be observed too, that the Texana 
bed, which is ten to fifteen feet thick on the Colorado river, has in- 
creased in thickness to one hundred feet in the Bosque section. 

The Glen Rose bed as a whole presents the-same phases here as it 
does in the Colorado section, but it shows a more decided character in 
the changing conditions of the beds from marl at the base to hard lime- 
stone, and in the passing from the limestone through a series'of marly 
and shell limestones to arenaceous lime marl at the top. 

The average increase in thickness of the Glen Rose bed from north- 
west to southeast along the Bosque section, is a little more than ten 
feet per mile. At Mount Airy, the Glen Rose bed is nearly fifty feet 
in thickness. At Alexander, fifteen miles east, it is about one hundred 
and fifty feet; at Iredell, thirty-five miles east of Mount Airy, it is four 
hundred feet; and at Walnut, ten miles further east, it cannot be less 
than five hundred feet in thickness. 

If the beds of the Bosque division were restored, ten miles to the west 
of Mount Airy, under the conditions existing in the beds east of this 
place, the Glen Rose (Alternating) bed would disappear, and the Trinity 
sand would join with that.of the Paluxy above. The outside horizons of 
the Alternating bed grade upward and downward into the Paluxy and 
Trinity sands respectively, and the upper portions of this bed, espe- 
cially the marly bands, become thicker and the hard lime thinner toward 
the sand. ‘Thin bands of shallow water shell-limestone extend into 
the sand, with thick bands of calcareous and sandy marl between them 
and the main bed of limestone. 


HOOD COUNTY. SECTION. 


‘This section extends due east from the Paleozoic at the base of I'win 
Mountains, near the western border of Hood county, across Comanche 
Peak to the Brazos river, near the east line of the county, and all 
of the beds of the Bosque division, together with the Texana, Coman- 
che Peak, and a part of the Caprina, are included in it. 

Special and detailed studies were madé at Twin Mountains and at 
Comanche Peak, besides parallel work along the Paluxy valley from 
the head of Paluxy creek to Glen Rose, in Somervell county. This 
work was done by the writer in the season of 1889. 

In 1890 Messrs. J. S. Stone and W. T.. Davidson, under the direc- 
tion of Mr. R. T. Hill, made a detailed section of the Glen Rose (AI- 
ternating) bed and Paluxy sand, with a portion of the Fredericksburg 
rocks. Their work in this section continued from the Trinity sand at 
Granbury to the top of Comanche Peak. The details of vertical Sec- 


? 


CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


308 


WDM AYIUIUOD 


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. THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 309 


tion No. 2, Comanche Peak, are due mainly to the careful labors of 
Messrs. Stone and Davidson. 

Carboniferous sands in thin shales and heavy gritty beds occur be- 
neath the Cretaceous at the western base of Twin Mountains. ‘The 
thin sand beds underlie the thicker grits; and these sand beds are in 
turn underlaid by Carboniferous encrinital limestone which outcrops 
in the valley east of the mountains. All of these rocks dip to the north 
or northwest. ‘The same character of limestone was found beneath the 
Trinity sands of the Cretaceous north of Morgan’s Mill, and also on 
the Brazos river above Thorp Springs, a fact which shows that they are 
of more than local occurrence, and that they continue probably some 
distance eastward beneath the Trinity along the line of the section. 


NO. 1. TWIN MOUNTAINS SECTION. 


1. Carboniferous sandstone resting unconformably beneath the Trinity, 
BSMOSEC A set FEM ea ee: EO CREM ae By OR PRE AM 8 Art CPs) 20 feet. 


UPR Aidt aM CLM WSR Ree Ss ff ale aicee! aiied Te letg bins febhe 90 feet. 


The lower twenty feet is a fine conglomerate of the same material as 
the conglomerate at the base of the Dublin section (see Plate XI). 
Siliceous brown, red, black and white pebbles, with sand and grit, con- 
stitute the basal portion. Few of these pebbles are more than one 
inch in diameter. ‘The Carboniferous grit near at hand west of the 
Cretaceous border is the source of a part of the material of the conglom- 
erate. The conglomerate is false-bedded, and in some instances changes 
rapidly from coarse to fine sand, thus indicating the action of strong 
and rapidly varying currents. The remaining seventy of the typical 
‘‘packsand’’ of the Trinity bed, is false-bedded, pure and argillaceous 
yellow sand. 


3. Arenaceous blue Reb gs Ad le ANS at MMR PO Ps? ese Rd Wie oe tL NMP A 3 feet. 
4, Trinity ‘“packsand’’ exactly similar to upper portion of No.2 . . . 22 feet. 


Glen Rose (Alternating) Limestone. 
5. Limestone, slightly arenaceous, in thin ledges... ........ 5 feet. 
Paluxy Sands, 

ERA SEE Wa Bakes «he pirash cy tk at nc See SAC tes 2 mI, Se 190 feet. 

This sand is fine-grained, yellow and generally friable. It readily 
disintegrates. Occasional partially indurated ledges are seen, but they 
are not of sufficient firmness to form benches on the mountain sides. 

Texana Bed, . 
7. Sandy limestone, which contains Hxogyra texana, Gryphea pitcheri 
BFE Is PRI a ch hn OA in) Mayne Wie Aetk Soak che, ened aig) 10 feet. 

‘This limestone, the base of the T'exana bed, forms the summit of the 

mountain. 


310 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


NO. 2. COMANCHE PEAK SECTION. 
Trinity Sand, 

Along the Paluxy creek valley, from Morgan’s Mill to Paluxy, Trin- 
ity sand occurs in exposures from the Glen Rose limestones down- 
ward to the bed of the creek. ‘The base of the sand was not exposed. 
At Paluxy, Bluff Dale and at other points along Paluxy creek, many 
artesian wells have penetrated a band of stiff blue and red clay at a depth 
of from less than a hundred feet to one hundred and twenty-five feet. 
From the sand beneath the clay water flows abundantly from the well 
at the surface. ‘This clay is no doubt a representative of No. 3 in the 
Twin Mountains section. In the upper portion of the Trinity bed great - 
quantities of silicified wood occur along the Paluxy creek from Morgan’s 
Mill to Paluxy postoffice. Whole trunks of trees are seen, some of 
which are three feet in diameter. Inaravine a short distance below 
Bluff Dale these silicified trees and fragments of logs are so abundant 
that one is reminded of drift wood, which doubtless they were at the 
time of deposition of the Trinity sands. Logs were seen here whose 
centers were silicified after having been first changed into lignite. 


Glen Rose ( Alternating) Limestone. 


2. Caprotina limestone, at the base of which Caprotina fossils are very 
abundant. These fossils are less numerous in the upper portion 


of the horizomy.4n i.) a. Wns Pegi eae ie othe ee 20 feet. 
3. Marly limestone, with an Wibete) V layer near the fentes cat la Sa paid Con Ree 
4, Bed of Ostrea—Ostrea camelinis (Cragin), Ostrea LP RnRLIS, (Coq.), 
and Osivéa Sp.) 101d." 58) ia eee Cp oh a regia 4 feet. 
5. Soft marly limestone... . satus EOeean 
6. Hard magnesian limestone, in whiten are Sethall ci ainane pees 
tions 6 EGR tse USL Se aye ee en 4 feet. 
7. Soft argillaceous liraestone, with thin indurated bands of Ymestone 
at the center and at theupperledge sa a .- 8 teeG 
8. Marly limestone, changing gradually upward into pacdss iimeatonen so SUPeRE, 
9. Marland limestone alternating. The marly bands are from two to 
four feet thick, while the limestone isin thin layers. .... .. 16 feet. 
10¢> (Marly limestone \: ..'°222 ia See te 1, ee ne =a eos 
11. Hard white crystalline limestone, which makes decided benbhass on 
the hillsides. .* <°,. 15:05 Pe eens cand gee 4 feet. 


12. Four marly layers, from four to six feet in thickness, uenarnied By 
three thin compact bands of limestone. A band of hard lime- 


stone caps the whole 2 aha we eee at ok ne ee al x BOSC 
18.) Marty linsestone .', 05) Avacdt ip eee oP es 0k eee 12 feet. 
14, Thick arenaceous marly limestone and Pein Cominae limestone in | 

layers, the upper* bands of; whichvaresandy.:. . tier eee ene 23 feet. 


Paluxy Sand. 
150. ¢Sand Reda se Gow. Avs ops ee gt Se is. Gee ik UE eee 
Near the upper and lower portions the sands become calcareous. ‘The 
upper portion of No. 14 grades into the sand by alternations of sandy 
marls, sand and thin layers of limestone composed of small worn shell 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. ; 311 


fragments. Portions of the sand contain a considerable per cent of 
clay. Silicified wood occurs at many places in the sand. In physical 
appearance it is the same in character as that occurring in the Trinity 
beneath the Glen Rose bed. 


Texana Bed. 


iaeeLime marth, with Gryphea’ pitcheri .-. Soe ee . . 165 feet. 
17. Marly and indurated limestone, with numerous Axogyra texana and 

LAYS LLY ITU GT A RED a RI I BP Peruana As) > 518 feet. 
18. Lime marls, with many Gophiae’ PLChErY) oie ae 14 feet. 
19. Massive Gryphea pitchert bed. These fossils commen afnost the 

whole rock mass... . 10 feet. 
20. Argillaceous lime marl, with Gy ahien ea ate many vaplanes Ror 

the base tO the soporte Torizon., >.) 32 See ee 30 feet. 


21. Marly limestone, in which occasional thin, partiaily dare Gre 
phea \edges occur. These thin layers contain many small-Gry- 
phea pitchert. The upper marly portion also contains many 
Gryphea pitcheri, Towxaster texanus, Cyprimeria crassa, Lima, 
Orel Te TET Ae APP Ve oe wn ele ie ie Wah, Paar, LOCE, 
Here at its culmination the Hxogyra texana attains its greatest de- 
velopment. 
Comanche Peak Bed. 


Peo COMaNChG Peat emia yainestOne. 2. 6 en ngeok ss Si te oe 66 feet. 


There is little variation in the character of the rock throughout the\ 
Comanche Peak limestone. ‘There are occasional more compact bands 
than are disclosed in the surface weathering; but as a whole, the bed is 
a massive chalky limestone. A glance at its surface on a slope is suffi- 
cient to determine its general character. More yielding than the Gry- 
phea and Texana marls beneath, and less persistent than the Caprina 
limestone above, it forms a narrow, gently sloping plane at the base, 
and favors acute topographic features, such as abrupt conical hills, trun- 
cate buttes, and abruptly sloping terraces, generally almost barren of 
soil. Where there is any vegetation on the exposed edges of these 
porous chalky rocks, the trees are dwarfed and the grass is coarse and 


worthless. 
Caprina Bed. 


23. Caprina limestone, compact, nearly pure limestone, varying but 
little from ledge to ledge, yet showing more distinct bedding 
planes than does the Comanche Peak limestone. ....... . 383 feet. 
Caprotina (/teguienia) occurs throughout that portion of the bed 
which forms the summit of Comanche Peak. Precipitous bluffs almost 
invariably follow exposures at the lower portion of this bed. 


CORRELATION WITH OTHER SECTIONS. 


The peculiar characteristics of the three subdivisions of the Bosque 
formation, as illustrated in the Colorado and Bosque sections, are still 
more strongly emphasized by the details presented by the rocks of this 
section. The variation between this and the Bosque section is not 


312 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


very marked, but when the rocks of this are contrasted with the same. 


rocks on the Colorado, the change is striking. 

The Trinity sand bed has no especial facies to distinguish it from the 
same bed on the Bosque river. Physically, structurally, lithologically, 
or paleontologically, there is no phase that will distinguish the rocks 
of the two localities. Every feature points to deposition under the 
same conditions. “Ihe same compressed porous fine sand in false beds, 
bearing the same flora, characterize each. 

The Glen Rose lime marl series forcibly illustrates the structure 
brought out in the same rock on the Colorado and Bosque valleys. 
The evidence is, that all these beds (1) decrease in thickness toward the 
northwest and blend at the upper border with the Paluxy sand, and 
probably with the Trinity below; and (2) that the interstratified beds of 
marl become thicker and more friable toward the north. Beneath 
Comanche Peak these alternating lime marl strata are one hundred and 
fifty-five feet thick. Between Comanche Peak and Twin Mountains they 
decrease to five feet of arenaceous limestone (see section 1 plate XII). 
Five miles west southwest of Twin Mountains a thin calcareous sand, in 
Rattlesnake Mountain, is the only representative of the splendid develop- 
ment of limestone and marl, with its abundant and varied fauna. On 
passing westward along the contact of the Glen Rose lime marls, thin 
bands of shallow water shell lime are seen to pass into the calcareous 
sand, and to separate themselves from the beds below by varying thick- 
nesses of sandy marl and calcareous sand. 

The homotaxial relations existing between the Alternating and the 
Trinity beds grow stronger as the details of the two beds are brought 
to light. As was said of the Colorado section, in vertical section No. 2, 
the Ostrea camelinis (Cragin) occurs near the middle of the Trinity, be- 
tween two beds of conglomerate. The same Ostrea appears at the base 
of the Glen Rose series in the Bosque section. In the Comanche Peak 
section of Hood county the same form, as determined by Professor 
Cragin, occurs thirty-six feet above the base of the Glen Rose lime 
marls. (See No. 4 of Comanche Peak section.) Whether or not the 
Ostrea occurring at these three separate localities belong to one con- 
tinuous bed, it is not now possible to say from a stratigraphic point of 
view; but in the light of this evidence, and in View of the structural 
details presented in the Colorado section, there is no doubt that parts 
at least of the Trinity sands and Glen Rose lime marls are representa- 
tives of each other. 

As the Glen Rose bed thins going westward, the Paluxy sands in- 
crease in nearly the same proportion. Beneath the base of the Texana 
bed in Comanche Peak, the Paluxy sand continues downward one hun- 
dred feet. The same sand bed forms one hundred and ninety feet in 
the upper portion of the Twin Mountains. As at every other locality 
noted the Texana bed rises abruptly from the Paluxy sands. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 318 


THE COLUMNAR SECTIONS. 


The columnar sections on Plate XIII were made along a line nearly 
north and south from Hiner, near the Brazos river, to St. Joe, near 
Red River. They are drawn to scale, that the relations of the different 
beds, their structure and variation, may be easily perceived. 

The adjustment ofthe sections upon the plate has no reference to 
their relative elevations above tide level. 

HINER SECTION. 

This section was made from the base of the Trinity river, Hiner post- 
office, to the top of the Texana beds, near Pleasant Point church, in 
southern Parker county. Beneath the Trinity sand, between Millsap 
and the Brazos river, there occur red and blue clay, and pale blue fissile 
sandstone, which presumably belong to the Carboniferous formation* 
beneath; the Trinity sand rests unconformably upon them. 

TRINITY Sanp.—The Trinity sand occurs in good exposures along 
a tun three-fourths of a mile southeast of Hiner. It is beautifully 
false-bedded and false-laminated, and shows clearly the action of the 
waves and fluctuating currents. From the base upward, about twenty 
feet, worn siliceous pebbles of various sizes and colors compose a great 
part of the material, as was seen also at the base of the Dublin and 
Twin Mountains sections. 

Near the upper portion of this gritty pebbly bed, there are fragments | 
_ of silicified wood, which is very common here near the middle of the 

sand. Above the zone of fossil wood the sand becomes argillaceous 
and calcareous, indurated in bands. Here are also local deposits of 
_ purple and red sandy clay, and nodules of iron sandstone occur quite 
abundantly in the upper half of the sand. In a gulch in Kidwell’s 
‘pasture, near the Milligan ranch place, two miles east of Hiner, there 
is an exposure of sand, clay, lignite and silicified wood. ‘This is fifty 
feet below the upper limit of the Trinity sand. The lignite is local, 
and appears to have occupied at one time the bed of a lagoon. Limbs, 
fragments and *bcdies of trees project from the bluff, lignitized and 
silicified. In some instances the lignite has been silicified. In the 
case of a large tree, the central portion was silicified to within.a few 
inches of the circumference, where silicified wood gave place to silici- 
fied lignite, which continued to a narrow outside rim of lignite. 

GLEN Rose BEDS.—The Trinity sand grades upward into the Alter- 
nating beds through about twenty feet of calcareous sand. 

CTT SOT Gr) PANTS a ee a OS tay eS Pees |: 100 feet. 
eA SEL MEOO Ch, cs at AOU a ar? od OS es) od ee cee eam, 30 feet. 

This bed is composed almost wholly of casts of Cardium mediale, 
Natica, Cyrena, Goniolina, and many other undetermined fossils. 


3. Alternating hard and crumbling limestone ......... 50 feet. 


*Geological Survey of Texas, Second Annual Report, pp. 372 and 381. 


tt 


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314 


CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


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THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 315 


There are indications of fossils in this bed, but no complete forms 
were seen. 
4. Marly and shaly lime, with numerous Cardium, Arca, Cyrena, 
Trigonta, Anomtaand Ammonites... . 1... . ae alLoato’. Lor fect. 
This is the same horizon, lithologically, and contains identically the 
same species of fossils as that which crops out in the banks of the 
Bosque river at Iredell, Bosque county; and the relative position of the 
horizons above and below is very nearly the same in each locality. 
5. Marly and shaly limestone, capped by a ledge of hard crystal- 


PTE URMGHI NCIS ere e deo. 5 a ole Og a ne 20 feet. 
6. Calcareous yellow sand, aiemufied ig Rigi let th ey Reman ee Rae 20, feet. 
7. Yellow crystalline limestone, made up of shell fragments. . 5 feet. 
HIM a MOTI DEC yaa ters kb fea! betes 110 feet. 


This sand varies but little lithologically between the transition rocks 
at the upper limit of the Alternating and at the lower edge of the Tex- 
ana beds. ‘There is no perceptible difference in any respect between 
this sand and that of the same bed at the base of the Comanche Peak, 
or in the valley of the Bosque river. Fragments of silicified wood are 
occasionally met with in the Paluxy sand here. 

TEXANA BED.—There is about ten feet of limy sand marl, which 
may be considered to form part of both the Paluxy and Texana beds. 

9. Marly limestone, containing very many Hxogyra texana, 
Gruphiza: plichers and: Ammonites:. ov Le eae "80 feet. 

Nearly ten feet of the upper portion is aa dees almost wholly of 
the fossil Gryphea. | 
10. Chalky MinestoleswitmtewlGrypi@a Pe ey 15 feet. 


11. Hard limestone, with many small Gryph@a...... baa wed EP ioneh ts wo gal 
PCat yEINeSLONG Rae we ln ol a Viet s cals Ok sie TOOL seri ite 
meer er el WAIIESLOUG) tech ee Fk ee ee ew aR IW feet, 


The fossil Gryphwa pitcheri is dwarfed to at least one-half of the 
size of those in the lower portion of the bed. 


14. ‘Hard chalky limestone .. . ey: 40 feet. 
15. Chalky limestone, with large ica yh levana, ime ey tex- 

Ct a a OLE MLV DEIGIEL 1A EFASSA. | oO ST ae sed 30 feet. 
line Omancne Peg chalky limestone... 0 seer eae ek 40 feet. 


| 


~~ 


WEATHERFORD SKCTION. 


This section was made between Millsap and Weatherford from the 
base of the Trinity upward. 

The Trinity sand rests unconformably upon a variegated itis green 
and deep red clay, in a run where the south Weatherford and Mill- 
sap road crosses the contact. Atasomewhat lower elevation, and not 
-. far west of the clay exposures, fissile hard sandstone and bluish clay 
were seen, dipping at an angle nearly five degrees toward the west. A 
pebbly grit and gritty sand forms the basal portion of the Trinity, from 
the contact with the clay upward for twenty-five feet, as in the Hiner, 


316 CRETACEOUS’ AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Twin Mountains and Dublin sections. _ Portions of this grit are indu- 
rated in irregular beds. In the upper portion of the sand, yellowish 
and purplish yellow calcareous nodules are common, some of which 


are cut by cavities and contain bands of .calcite septaria. 
1. Trinity sand from Carboniferous clay to Glen Rose (Alternating) 


SOYIES So eas a ee os 105 feet. 
Glen Rose Bed, 

2. Arenaceous marly lime and hard Bet be shell limestore, 

alternating: 5. ;ose ee ave acbnes ee Ss eae eee ee he 30 feet. 

Cardium mediale, Turritella, Anomia and Pisiedead a are numerous. 

Many Cyrena-like fossils occur in hard calcareous sand at the base of 
the Alternating rocks. ‘The greater part of the fossils are in the form 
- of casts, as is the case elsewhere in these rocks, a fact which makes 
their identification difficult. 


&.  Arenaceous limestone, indurated . 2-4. 9. 2 . Wee eee | 5 feet. 
4: Sandy lime marl,’sandy atupperedgel.: pe). eer ee 18 to 20 feet. 
6s Crystalline shell limestone 4.20) ye ee eee ee Sele ti. Cpe ners 


Immediately above and below this limestone, as well as in the lime- 
stone, are many small Hcogyra sp. ind., Turritella, Curdium, Anomia, 
Serpula, etc. These fossils occur in the greatest profusion in the banks 
of the creek one-half mile northwest of the Texas and Pacific depot at 
Weatherford. ‘The crystalline limestone is not continuous, but occurs 
as lenses and lenticular bands in the false-bedded sand. Immediately . 
below this Hxogyra, there are fragments of bone and teeth. 


Paluxy Bed, 


6." Yellow packsand))0 6.5 86°) 2g eee re are a 40 feet. 
7. Crystalline limestone conned of shell fragments in lime 

matrix es ee eC 5) ce eee ee 5to 8 feet. 
8. Yellow ‘ ‘ynckaantl? wR SST aE eee a Glug? We hy rise 70. feet: 
dos, Lexana bed, exposed .", 0-2 e— seams tae a ee ee Mee ye 8 20 feet. 


Gryphea pitcheri and Exogyra texana in great abundance. 

From a comparison of the details of these two sections, north of the 
Brazos river, is becomes apparent that the Glen Rose beds thin rapidly 
from the first at Hiner, due northward to the second at Weatherford; 
but thatthe disintegration of the rocks of this bed_is not so great 
northward as it is in the same bed westward in Hood county. 

The Glen Rose (Alternating) beds are represented at Springtown, 
along the banks and valley of Walnut creek, by a few thin bands of 
shell limestone with intermediate thick layers of calcareous sand. 
There are good exposures of these rocks one and two miles south of 
Cottondale, in Wise county. ‘Two miles south of Cottondale, on the. 
west side of the Springtown-Cottondale road, in the sand, are thin’ 
bands of crumbling arenaceous limestone, which contain Cardium hil- 
lanum, Cardium mediale, Trigonia crenulata, and the small Heogyra 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 317 


tecana. Calcareous argillaceous sand continues downward grading 
into the Trinity sand. 

On the south side of Salt creek, one mile south of Cottondale, there 
are small buttes and terraces caused by the presence of the Alternat- 
ing beds along the edge of the flood-basin of the creek. 

Below is a section of the \Alternating series, beginning at the base: 
MCS attest ys tev Pas cye eo... LS pee ress 
2. Fossil leaves and wood; wood in fragments and leaves in thin, 


eR UIneSHCEISIar MT Nem ME ht UL ees 1lto 6 inches 
The wood is lignitized in the form of fragments of logs and branches. 
3. Calcareous sand, stratified and falselaminated ........ 10 feet. 


4.- Arenaceous limestone, with numerous Ostrea, Anomia, Trigo- 
nia crenulata, Cardium hillanum, Cardium mediale (?), 
Cyrena, Serpula and occasional small Exogyra texana, and 
ER Sey Tata Eee thei rn FSS oe Ie Ecc fe a ly err rr re feet. 
Pe raluxy sand, calcarcoussiear.the base. . . 2... woe ss ne eee 

Four miles west of Cottondale there is a local bed of fibrous calcite, 
from three to eight inches thick; above it are layers of friable and in- 
durated sandstone. The calcite belongs at the base of the section. 

DECATUR SECTION. 

From the base of the Trinity to the Texana bed in the town of De- 
catur, Wise county. 

Across Wise county moderately hard sandstone and shale of the 
Carboniferous period form the bed of the Cretaceous. 

TRINITY SAND.—A zone of pebbly sand rests uncomformably upon 
the Carboniferous sand, torming the foundation of the Trinity, as at 
other related points south of the Brazos river. ‘The volume of pebbly 
material grows less on ascending the sand, until it altogether disap- 
pears, and is succeeded by fine ‘‘packsand.’’ Silicified wood is present 
in the basal portion, but it does not occur so abundantly asin Hood 
county and at other points further south. In character, however, the 
pebbly sand is identical with that in the same beds noted above. 
PETE De DO teeter etuki Dery KS SY Oo lle Ole bn 20 to 30 feet. 


Satisfactory exposures of the Trinity sand, in situ, are very rare. 
The grade of the country toward the Trinity river becomes less steep, 
and the valleys of the streams wider, as one descends from the Paluxy 
sand and Glen Rose rocks. Instead of having bluffy banks and steep 
inclines, like the topography of the Paluxy bed, the surface is gently 
rolling, and the streams wind sluggishly between low banks of trans- 
ported sand. In'the upper portion of the Trinity sand there are local 
patches or collections of argillaceous lime nodules, yellow to pale red in 
color, some of which are intersected by a network of calcite septaria. 
Small glades open the forest where these nodules occur in quantities 
on the surface. Silicified wood is sparsely scattered through this sand. 
Petit yepeackealG, ae omac tei ost. GA! Vue eee Me its OP) ee als 160 feet. 


318 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


GLEN Rosk (ALTERNATING) BED.—On Walnut branch, about four 
miles southwest of Decatur, and nearly two hundred feet below the 
summit of the Paluxy sand, calcareous indurated and friable sands 


occur. ‘The soft layers are nearly pure sand. In one of the indu- 


rated ledges there are many Anomia, Cyrena (?) and casts of gastero- 
pods. ‘These alternating compact and soft layers of calcareous and 
pure sand are not more than ten feet-thick. 

On Isbel branch, about three miles northwest of Decatur, and one 
hundred and eighty feet below the summit of the Paluxy sand, “‘pack- 
sand’’ with thin bands of light blue impure clays are extensively false- 
bedded, and in some instances minutely cross-laminated. At about this 
elevation, and associated with the argillaceous sand, there is indurated 
calcareous sand in thin ledges with ‘‘packsand’’ surrounding it. These 
indurated ledges contain Anomia, Cardium, Cyrena and gasteropods. 

On Watson’s branch, one-fourth mile east of the Fort Worth and 
Denver Railway, this same bed crops out in an irregular band of calca- 
reous sand, which contains bivalves and gasteropods. ‘The zone of 
calcareous sand is not continuous, but occurs as wedges and lenses of 
fossiliferous rock in false-bedded strata.. The fossils are casts. The 
Glen Rose beds have not been observed north of this locality in Texas. 
These rocks, which at other places form so important a part of the 
geology and topography, and which give many thousand square miles 
of surface exposure in Central and Southern Texas, dwindle here to a 
span of strata, and were it not for its fauna and direct continuity with 
the southern area, its geologic position would be hardly suspected. 

PALUXY SAND.—‘‘Packsand,’’ with now and then a thin band of 
calcareous sand, associated with porous nodules in bands, occurs on 
Walnut branch, one hundred and seventy feet beneath the top of the 
sand. Ten feet below this point ‘“‘packsand’’ crops out in irregular 
bands of argillaceous sand. 

These sands and sandy clays are false-bedded, and contain lehtiettee 
bands of carbonaceous sand and lignite. The lignite occurs as frag- 
ments of trunks and branches of trees, all of which show most beauti- 
fully the structure and fibre of the original wood. Good exposures of 
this sand occur along Isbel branch, below the Fort Worth and Denver 
Railway. One hundred and twenty feet below its upper layers it be- 
comes saline, and on exposure in the banks of the run common sait in 
small quantities is found. ‘This saline sand contains a good per cent 
of impure clay, and beneath it occurs the irregular band of calcareous 
sandy nodules. Beginning on Watson branch, a short distance east of 
the Fort Worth and Denver Railway, excellent exposures continue until 
the top of the sand is almost reached. Often the bluffs are from forty 
to fifty feet high, and exhibit most beautifully the cross-bedding of the 
sand with impure clays, lignitic sand, lignite and silicified wood. ‘The 
ignite exhibits the same characteristics here as it does elsewhere.~ It 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 319 


occurs in fragments, in thin lenticular bands, and is alternately stratified 
or laminated with lignitic and pure sand. Fifty feet beneath the summit 
the Paluxy sand becomes calcareous. It is fine-grained and compara- 
tively "homogeneous, and in places indurated. At Decatur the Texana 
bed rests upon calcareous sandy marl a few feet thick, which grades 
downward into an argillaceous sand, in which are local deposits of im- 
pure red and blue clays. At other places the Texana limestone rests 
directly upon clear sand. 


EE Re, SAU Gs ie eRe! CEN e.g a ge RO earn Aa 200 feet. 


The Texana marly lime and marl occurs, differing not materially 
from that at Weatherford, Comanche Peak and Dublin or Walnut. 
The town of Decatur rests upon the bed. The total depth was not de- 
termined. 7 


BOSQUE AND ASSOCIATED ROCKS AT ST. JOE, MONTAGUE COUNTY. 


The contact of the Cretaceous and Paleozoic rocks passes near Bonita 
in a general north and south direction. Red clay and fissile brown 
and red sands form the bed rock of the Cretaceous. 

TRINITY SANDS.—A conglomerate of pebbles and sand forms the 
basal zone of this sand, as is the case at other localities cited above. 
Beginning in northern Wise county, large masses of an indurated con- 
glomerate appear at the base and so continue through Montague county 
to Red River valley. The easily eroded ‘‘packsand,’’ where areas had 
been detached by erosion, envelop large masses of this hard conglom- 
erate, which is believed to be pre-Cretaceous. In compact masses sim- 
ilar pebbles occur, mixed with the sand, associated with the erratic 
compact conglomerate. Above the pebbly zone, through a vertical 
distance of three hundred and twenty feet to the Texana limestone, 
there is no perceptible change in the sand. In the character of the 
material composing the sand and of the structure there is no indication 
of a change or cessation of deposits throughout the bed. ‘There is, 
undoubtedly, a representative of the Glen Rose (Alternating) bed in 
the central portion of these sands, but it is no less clearly evident that 
the subsidence, during which the alternating marls and limes were de- 
posited, did not carry the then coastal area between St. Joe and Deca- 
tur to a sufficient depth for the deposition of calcareous rocks until 
after the completion of the Paluxy sands. 

TEXANA AND COMANCHE PEAK BEDS.—A zone of semi-crystalline 
white limestone in heavy beds, about thirty feet in thickness, here rep- 
resents the Texana, Comanche Peak, and Caprina beds, which are so 
extensive south of the Brazos river.* ‘The flints disappear from the 
Caprina bed near its passage across the Brazos river, as also do the 


* “Goodland’’ limestone of Hill. See Bulletin Geological Society of America, 
page 614. 


320 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


flaggy and siliceous layers. The marly bands of the Texana and the 
friable chalks of the Comanche Peak beds have representatives here in 
compact sub-crystalline limestone. 

Though the rocks of these beds thin out to a’mere fraction of their 
former thickness, yet in part at least the fossil fauna remains, and in 
spite of its great decrease in volume, serves as an unfailing proof of 
the identity of the stratigraphy. 

Two miles east of Benbrook, on the Texas and Pacific Railway, and 
eight miles west of Fort Worth, this limestone is two hundred feet 
thick, carrying the numerous and varied fauna of the Texana and 
Comanche Peak limestone in greatest abundance. 

Beginning with the crumbling chalky limestone of the Comanche 
Peak at this point, and with the massive semi-crystalline limestone on 
Red River at a sharply marked division line stratigraphically, a series 
of blue plastic clays, interstratified with thin bands of flaggy limestone 
and massive Gryphezea rock, rise to a vertical height of thirty feet. 
The conformability of these (Kiamitia) clays with the chalky lime- 
stone at the south, and the hard Jimestone at the north, is complete, 
but the stratigraphic and lithologic line of demarcation between them 
is striking. 

The details of these rocks will be brought out more fully in a discus- 


sion of the Comanche series at Goodland, Indian Territory, and at 


Denison, Texas. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION AND ASSOCIATED ROCKS WEST OF THE 
MAIN CRETACEOUS BORDER. 


During a part of the season of 1889 the writer studied and outlined 
the Cretaceous remnantal outliers west of the main Cretaceous .area. 
As an aid in this work, a pedometer, a compass and an aneroid baro- 
meter were used. The barometer was employed only for local work, 
such as making vertical sections of mountains, and for local correlation 
of strata. 

Special studies were made of the rocks of this division, the Paleozoic 
rocks below and the Fredericksburg division above, at: 

1. Baker Mountain, which is one of a collection of buttes in the 
corner of Callahan county called the Savannah Hills, and which is a 
member of the unbroken arm of Cretaceous rock extending from the 
main area in Comanche county to Pecan bayou, south of Belle Plains. 

2. Buffalo Gap, on the west side of Elm Fork of the Brazos. 

3. Castle Mountain, at the mouth of Mulberry canyon, near the 
line of Taylor and Nolan counties. : 

4, Bitter creek, south of Sweetwater, Nolan county. 

5. Horse Mountain, one of a group of buttes on Yellow Wolf creek, 
upon the north side of Colorado valley, in Coke county. 

6, At Church Mountain, in the southeast corner of Nolan county. 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. o21 


(1). BAKER MOUNTAIN SECTION. 


A waste of Trinity sand surrounds the base of this mountain and the 
surrounding buttes to a distance of seven miles, forming what is locally 
known as “‘sand roughs,’’ which are areas of undulating surfaces or 
loose sands, overgrown with a thick forest of ‘‘shin-oak.’’ The valley 
lands of the small streams that rise in these sands and flow into the 
tributaries of the Brazos or Colorado rivers are quite productive and 
afford farms for a considerable population. Wells sunk in the sand at 
the base of Baker Mountain penetrate to Paleozoic limestones and clay 
at fifty to sixty feet. 


Section of Baker Mountain from base upward: 


Pe OCOUS MOMORGUEOUS  ECKBANO AT ws a an ee pO feet, 
2. Coatse gritty sand °.).0 soy. | hee ete Lb: feet: 
3. Stratified, partially haderaced, Peercous oat whieh weatitens in 

PONE odiwtiat paransunasses ao. OE ay ehath eOUs Teer, 


4. Red and purple clays, locally pieputed. in some places it is ten 
and more feet in thickness; at others it is absent. Total thick- 
Mepsr Ce SHitiee we eee ee eee hts Oe i ae OO teets 


The Glen Rose (Alternating) beds are absent, and the sands are un- 
broken from the Paleozoic to the Texana bed, which succeeds the sand. 
5. Calcareous indurated sandstone, grading upward into marly or aren- 


aceous crumbling limestone, bearing small Hwogyra texana, Gry- 
phea pitcheri, and associated fauna of the Texana bed, such as 


Ammonites Touvaster, Natica, and Cardium .. . ia GE NAO tee t 
6. Comanche Peak limestone, with probably the basal nocen of the 
eyEMN ISOS (OL Gm MMe Me. 2s TS jin eaten! ag SL Ngh, culcan- 2 epee Ae Rt 


(2). BUFFALO GAP SECTION. 


Elm Fork of the Brazos river, flowing northward, and the Jim Ned 
creek, tributary to the Colorado river, on the south, have cut through 
the Cretaceous rocks down two hundred feet into the red clays and 
fissile sandstone of the Permian strata, and have formed the pass-:of 
Buffalo Gap, leaving the almost perpendicular side-walls of Cretaceous 
rock on truncated bases of the Permian. 


1,. Trinity sand, having the general character as the correspond- 

ing rock in Comanche and Erath counties; fine grained and 

compact, but not indurated, bearing evidence of changing, 

but not extremely variable current action in its structure; 

near the base tinged with red clay, and in some cases may 

contain bands of clay from the Permian strata. From this 

strata most of the sand at least has its eae The tee of 

sand-hereis.< .. 140 feet. 
2. Texana bed, composed me prraciied arenaceous Lasee torent in hin 

layers, bearing small Awogyra texrana, Gryphea pitcheri, 

Pecrrang castsrotisimall bivalves:.. te aine ale wages 2to 4 feet. 
8. Heavily bedded Comanche Peak limestone, succeeded by twenty 


, or tore feet of massive Caprina limestone... 1+... 0. 130 feet. 


wae, CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


(3). CASTLE MOUNTAIN SECTION. 

On the east side of the entrance to Mulberry canyon, two peaks, 
formed by Castle Mountain and Hast Mountain, composed of Cre- 
taceous and Permian rocks, remain isolated from the body of the table 
land, into which Mulberry creek has worn its canyon and its many 
fingered gorges. ‘The creek has long since passed beneath the base of 
the Cretaceous rocks, and is now imbedded two hundred feet in the 
Permian strata along the side of Castle Mountain. Perpendicular 
bluffs from forty to sixty feet high near the summit of the peak give 
excellent exposures of bedded calcareous sandstone and limestone. 

The following section of the mountain was made from the base up- 
ward: ; 

1. Red béds of Permian sandstone and clay, from bed of Mulberry creek 
to base of Cretaceous Sandy hin =u 4 ee a ee +e gRe oa! vei ie Oy 
2, -Trinity or Paluxy samd‘or DOtH 2 )75 siete ee 

There seems to exist no variation between this sand and the corre- 

sponding bed, No. 1, of the Buffalo Gap section. 
8. Stratified and very slightly indurated calcareous sand, bearing in 
the upper edge Texana and Comanche Peak bed fauna... .... 20 feet. 

It contains small, Heogyra texana, Grpyhea pitcheri forms with as- 
sociated fossils. 

4, Comanche Peak limestone, arenaceous in the lower portion... . . 40 feet. 
(4). BITTER CREEK (NOLAN COUNTY) SECTION. 

Along the east side of Bitter creek valley there are precipitous bluffs 
which exhibit excellent exposures of Permian and Cretaceous rock in 
successive strata. 

1, Permian red sandstone, from base of Bitter creek upward to the base 

ofthe Cretaceous bludsS: 4) eee eee nem Loh bo Shee 
2. Cretaceous conglomerate, of loosely cemented patents pebbles bf 

various tints and colors of red, brown and black. It resembles 

the pebbled conglomerate grit at the base of Dublin section. . . 10 feet. 

Fragments of indurated conglomerate occur in the red beds at the 
contact and in the loose conglomerate of the Trinity. 

S.-i tinity, or Paluxy said: ">: 52 ae nee es ocean 120 feet. 


The sand is similar to fhe at Buffalo on Hee at other localities 
further east in the same bed, except that at near the base at Bitter 
creek, where it exhibits reddish and in some instances a purple hue. 
This color seems to have its origin in the almost similarly colored beds 
of the Permian. 


4, TLjmestone, in thin layers, sandy at the base. This bed is believed to 
represent the Texana bed. ‘Texana fauna occurs near the contact 


of thé sand and limestone? ieeemeeaes . . sa eee as eee 15 feet. 
5. Massive chalky limestone, of the Coulanche Peak subdivision. . . 20 feet. 
6." Limestone; ‘in tito’ beds'im) (eae ee oe en ee . « Id feet. 


From Bitter creek the Cretaceous escarpment continues toward the 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. | 323 


west, bearing the strata of this section about fifteen miles, when it is 
overlapped and concealed by post-Cretaceous (probably Quaternary)’ 
conglomerates and calcareous bluff marls. 


(5). HORSE MOUNTAIN SECTION. 


The conditions here, on the south side of the plateau, are the same 
as they are on the north side. Yellow Wolf creek. has, by its erosion, 
cut through the Cretaceous strata and is now far down into Permian 
‘Red beds.’’ Cretaceous capped buttes and conical hills stand about 
in the canyon, and on each side, where horns Pe from the 
plateau, have been severed by erosion. 

Horse Mountain is a member of this group of buttes. 

1. Red Permian sandstones, from the bed of Yellow Wolf creek to the 
base of ‘the Prinity sand 2 7)... tage NOR ae ean er eee 
2. Trinity or Paluxy sands, slightly indurated in ies YJ aang 160 feet. 

The basal portion is tinged with red and purple from the Permian. 
Local collections of pebbly conglomerate occur at the contact. 

3. Comanche Peak limestone, with Texana bed fauna at the base’. . . 100 feet. 
4, Massive chalky limestone, bearing bands of large flint nodules near 


the center. It generally forms impassable bluffs around the cap 
AiO, CGe tain aterm mae AS oa Oy Re ie re BOT6ER 


(6). CHURCH MOUNTAIN SECTION. 


Church Mountain is one mile out from the point of the long Creta- 
ceous promontory, which extends southeastward from the plateau 
between the canyons of Oak and Fish creeks. 

Since the early settling of the country, this peak has een a noted 
landmark on account of its isolation, height and peculiar shape. It is 
oblong and sharp, and is crested with a tall spire-like point of rock at 
the southwest end. | 


1. Permian red sandstone, with a zone of hp eae” brown sand at the 


OO nM aN ee Rea Or. ns Saatchi otter ama RIES oye Meee OU eee 
2. eitiitr.¢ Or Play sand, with a border of pebbly ound at the base in 

equtact with Permian rocks... 0°. sy bale th aes Pits?) SOUS TERE. 
3. Comanche Peak limestone, with Texana bed fauna in contact with 

Bu RM eV 9 le sae ar oh as gc a Ape Bese id cope kf ae eeae es oe 80 feet. 
Poe vassive chalky limestone: 62. >. aos) Wee ee ee Cee 20 feet. 
PeesCOm pach Dedded- limesio ire NC ee Roe. deep eT 30 feet. 
6. Massive chalky limestone, containing flint nodules in considerable 

PPR LEIS nt Ag STRANI Ss ee. tig A oes ee ee ae rac rags a) Leet. 


The limestones of Nos. 4, 5 ane 6 are considered to constitute the 
Caprina bed. 


CORRELATION OF THE TRINITY, GLEN ROSE AND PALUXY BEDS. 


That the Trinity sand is Cretaceous, and represents the littoral de- 
posits of a part of the Lower Cretaceous series, has evidence in the 
facts that its beds abut against the pre-Cretaceous continental contour; 


324 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


that its beds conform to and blend with the undoubted Cretaceous Glen 

‘Rose limestones; that its component materials are local and have their 
origin in the Paleozoic as a strictly near-shore rock; and further, that 
it contains fossil fauna and flora that range through superimposed beds 
of sand and limestone. | 

Along a line drawn from the Colorado river at the Burnet-Travis 

-county line to Naruna, Burnet county, a distance of less than forty 
miles, the Trinity occupies a Paleozoic contour, ranging at an elevation 
of from six hundred and fifty to fifteen hundred and fifty feet above sea 
level. . As this line is followed from the river northward, the Trinity — 
conglomerate and sand may be observed to vary in thickness and com- 
ponent material, which variation is governed in a measure by the under- 
lying contact rock. Lenticular beds of conglomerate and sand are seen 
toextend away from the Trinity bed, to blend into the strata of the Glen 
Rose limestone above, and to become calcareous sand and siliceous 
limestone inseparable from the Glen Rose beds. Near the Colorado 
river there are four hundred feet of Glen Rose strata; above the Trinity 
at Burnet there cannot be more than two hundred feet; while at Naruna 
there is less than one hundred feet of these limestones. ‘Thus it is clear 
that the conglomerates and sands of the Trinity pass upward gradually 
into the Glen Rose (Alternating) beds, representing the shore debris 
during the formation of a great portion of these limestones. 

In the shell limestone included in the Trinity of the Colorado valley 
there occur Zrigonia crenulata and Ostrea camelinis (Manuscript of 
Cragin). The Zrigonia ranges as high as the Comanche Peak lime- 
stone, and the Ostrea is found in the Glen Rose beds as seen at Gran- 
bury and in Erath county west of Mount Airy. 

There is no perceptible difference in the fossil woods which occur in 
the Trinity and Paluxy sands. 

The Glen Rose beds present the form of a wedge, with its edge to- 
ward the northwest, between the Trinity and Paluxy sands. Erosion 
has cut gaps in the edge of this wedge-like formation from Decatur, 
Wise county, to the western portion of Erath county, near Twin Moun- 
tains. From Twin Mountains the edge or western line passes very near 
the northwest corner of Comanche county and on toward the south - 
through the eastern part of the Central Mineral Region. 

When the shore of the lower Cretaceous sea had reached a point not 
far west of the line given above, for the restored western limit of 
the Glen Rose beds, there was a cessation of the continental sub- 
sidence in this region, and after a time there was probably a slight 
elevation, after which the profound subsidence of the Lower Cre- 
taceous continued. At the beginning of the cessation of the conti- 
nental subsidence the sands were laid down on the surface of the recently 
formed Glen Rose limestone; and when the shore moved eastward, the 
sands were carried further out. Meanwhile, off-shore marls and shell 


THE BOSQUE DIVISION. 325 


limestone, were being formed, and as the shore fluctuations or changes 
of currents came, near-shore limestone and sandy marls interlapped. 
This interlapping is illustrated along the edge of the Glen Rose and 
Paluxy beds in a great many localities. 

It seems most probable that there was a cessation in the downward 
continental movement, and an increase of land erosion and seaward 
current action, rather than an elevation of land along shore, for the 
reason that the Glen Rose beds were not exposed between the times of 
the deposition of the Trinity and the Paluxy sands. If there had been 
an elevation of the land to any great extent these limestones would 
have been exposed and eroded, for they are not of deep sea formation. 
In spite of these evidences, showing that there was but little or no ele- 
vation of the land at this period, there are indications of variable and 
shallow current action in the false-bedding of the Paluxy sands many 
miles east of the western point of the Glen Rose limestone. 

The manner of contact of the Paluxy sand and Glen Rose beds alone 
is sufficient evidence of their relations. From the western border of 
the Glen Rose beds, where the limestone has tapered to a narrow band, 
and where the Paluxy sand is one hundred feet thick, to the east, 
where the sand has decreased to a few feet and the limestone has 
developed into an extensive bed, the limestone along the; contact 
extends out into the sandy marl in thin ledges of worn shell rock, and 
there discontinue blending with the arenaceous marl. ‘This;transition 
marl and calcareous sand with diminishing shell flagstones along the 
Paluxy-Glen Rose contact reaches a thickness in some instances of 
thirty feet. 


326 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Il. THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION 


WITH THE 


GEOLOGY OF PORTIONS OF LAMPASAS, BURNET, AND WILLIAMSON 
COUNTIES. 


INTRODUCTION. 

This work includes in its scope the whole of the Cretaceous system 
of Central Texas, over a typical area beginning at the base west of 
Nix postoffice, in Lampasas county, and passing southeast to the top 
of the system east of Copeland and Thorndale, in Travis and Milam 
counties respectively. | 

AREA.—It was not considered expedient, for lack of time and other 
reasons, to consider areas in this work, further than was necessary for 
a full study of the geology—stratigraphic and economic. The partings 
between the beds are so clearly marked by natural stratigraphic and 
topographic lines, and there is so little variation in the geology north 
and south along any rock bed, it was rarely necessary to work in those 
directions more than ten miles. When the study of a bed is complete 
for this range it is complete for the adjacent region. 

THE SECTION.—The Lampasas-Williamson section begins west of 
the Carboniferous-Cretaceous contact, about two miles north-northwest 
of Nix, in Lampasas county, and extends in a general southeast direc- 
tion to the Tertiary border near the junction of Travis, Williamson and 
Bastrop counties. It passes through Nix, Lampasas, Bachelor Peak, 
Pilot Knob, Georgetown, Hutto, and crosses Brushy creek below Rice’s 
crossing. 

The profile of the section from Lampasas to Hutto was obtained from 
a line of levels run with transit and stadia by the Survey, from the 
western terminus to Lampasas, and from Hutto to the Tertiary border 
it was obtained from the United States Geological Survey topograph- 
ical sheets. 

The section is projected on an east-west base line, and is drawn on a 
scale of one inch to two and forty-two hundrecths miles. The ratio of 
the vertical to the horizontal scale is as eight to one. 

As stated, the section extends entirely across the Cretaceous area, 
and as the rocks dip toward the southeast, it is perpendicular to their 
strike; a complete section is thus obtained, both the lower and Upper 
Cretaceous rocks being shown. _ 

The geology was worked systematically, reference being made when 
necessary to each instrument station. In this manner the Lampasas- 
Williamson section was made with its detailed vertical sections. Par- 
allel studies were made along the tributaries of Sulphur, Mesquite, 
Rocky, and Brushy creeks and San Gabriel river, verifying the work 
upon the section line. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 327 


Another object also of the section was to obtain reliable estimates 
for boring artesian wells in the artesian basin of this region. 

The beds, which are represented upon the section by the letters a to 
k inclusive, extending from the Carboniferous contact to a point about 
two and one-half miles southeast of Georgetown, are Lower Cretaceous; 
those which are represented by aa, bd, cc, etc., are Upper Cretaceous. 
The following scheme will give a concise view of the divisions and sub- 


divisions occurring in this section: 

Blue (Ponderosa) marl. 
Austin limestone. 
Eagle Ford shale. 
Vola limestone. 
Arietina clay. 

Fort Worth limestone. 
Kiamitia. tee 
Austin marble. 

Flag limestone. 
Caprina limestone. 
Comanche Peak limestone. 
Texana limestone. 


BeaerMeTeLOCEOUS = oh ch) ORS te eS 


} 
(vee 
Ou 
Ou 


| Washita Division 


Lower Cretaceous J Fredericksburg Division 


( 


THE Map.—A much larger area is included in the map accompany- 
ing this report than was studied in detail during the field season, but 
the contacts between the divisions have been located by the Survey 
with the exception of the line between the Bosque and Fredericksburg 
divisions. 

Lack of time alone prevented the location of this parting line. The 
contact between the subdivisions of the Washita division were traced 
and appear upon the map. 

The base of this geological map was adopted from the United States 
topographic sheets of the region. These topographic sheets were of 
very material aid in the prosecution of the geological field work. It 
was not expected that they would serve the purpose of a closely de- 
tailed map, but for one with a contour difference in elevation of fifty 
feet they were bound to be quite satisfactory. 


Paluxy sand. 

Glen Rose (Alternating) lime- 
stone. 

a. Trinity sand. 


on 
FORO mR Peo 8 


Bosque Division. . . . 


ee I EN Le 


STRATIGRAPICAL GEOLOGY. 


The Cretaceous border* across Lampasas county marks very nearly 
the summit line of the hydrographic basin of the Colorado river, which 


*This border line was traced by the writer in the spring of 1889 under the direc- 
tion of Mr. R. T. Hill, who then had supervision of the Cretaceous area. Further 
investigation in the past season was made upon the Paleo-Cretaceous border in 
the vicinity of Nix, at the beginning of the field-work at this section, by the 
writer in company with Mr. S. Leverett. 


828 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


runs six to fifteen miles to the southwest of it, hence the drainage from 
this border is downward over the Paleozoic. ‘The principal tributaries 
to the Colorado river in Lampasas county are Lynch, Salt and Ante- 
lope creeks. 

Near the mouth of Lynch creek, and further south along the Colo- 
rado river valley, hard blue marble and lithographic flagstones occur 
beneath Carboniferous strata which are most probably of Silurian age. 

Dr. Comstock, in the First Annual Report of the Geological Survey 
of Texas, page 301, says: ‘‘Upon the northern border of our portion 
of the Central Region the Cretaceous overlies the Carboniferous, and 
a broad area of high Silurian is now uncovered in that region.’”’ In 
the same report, under the head of ‘‘Devonian System,’ he says: ‘“‘At 
several. points along the northern border of our district (the Central 
Mineral Region) the contacts of the Silurian (San Saba series) with 
overlying beds are different from what has been reported elsewhere, 
and not what I have observed in other places. Between what Mr. 
Cummins and Mr. Tarr, as I understand them, assume for the Siluro- 
Carboniferous contact in the region above the southwest corner of 
Lampasas county, there is in some sections an important series of strata 
of but little thickness, but containing fossils closely allied to Devonian 
types.’’ | | 

From Dr. Comstock’s description of the supposed Devonian rocks it 
is most probable that this ‘‘marble’’ and ‘‘lithographic’’ limestone does 
not belong to them. 

In the Second Annual Report of the Survey, p. 568, he himself ex- 
presses doubts as to his supposed Devonian being a member of that 
system. ‘The contact between these crystaline blue limestones and 
flaggy lithographic limestone strata was observed nearly five miles 
west of Nix, near the Colorado river. The contact passes’ from this 
locality in a southeasterly direction to the Cretaceous border near the 
line of Lampasas county. ‘The exact point where this Siluro-Carbonifer- 
ous contact passes beneath the Cretaceous was not seen, but the rocks of 
the Silurian system were observed south of the county line, and those 
of the Carboniferous north of it. 

Two miles south of Nix, the Carboniferous limestones pass from the 
Cretaceous border, with northeast strike, through the junction of the 
two branches of Lynch creek three miles west of Nix. The limestone 
dips northeast about ten degrees. 

Sandstone, ferruginous and in flaggy and false-beds, succeeds the 
limestone two miles south of Nix, generally dipping two to three de- 
grees northwest, and continues as the Cretaceous bed rock to the 
northern limit of Lampasas county. Good exposures of this sand- 
stone occur beneath the Trinity conglomerate near Senterfit along Salt 
creek and on Antelope creek northwest of Senterfit. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 329 


CARBONIFEROUS BASIN AT LAMPASAS. 


The town of Lampasas is situated at the lower end of a Paleozoic 
basin of erosion. ‘This Carboniferous inlier is in the form of a triangle, 
the three corners of which are on Sulphur creek, at Lampasas, Donald- 
son creek, at the crossing of the Lampasas-Nix road, and on the south 
fork of Donaldson creek, nearly due south, at the same road crossing. 
The line forming these three sides is bordered by a frame of Trinity 
conglomerate, and is very sinuous. (See accompanying map for special 
locations upon the line.) Bluffs of thin-bedded shaly limestone and 
black flaggy bituminous sandy shale, with bands of black. obsidian- 
like flint, occur along Donaldson creek four miles west of Lampasas. 
At Indian bluff these rocks are admirably exposed in perpendicular 
walls forty to sixty feet high. Red and white unctuous clay crops out 
at the base of the bluff. Shale and flirty bands dip nearly southeast. 
Half a mile below the bluff the bituminous shale dips south 60 de- 
grees east, and three-fourths of a mile below it dips northward. 

Along Donaldson creek, one-fourth mile above the large spring, 
there occurs heavy-bedded encrinital limestone, fissured and jointed, 
dipping nearly east. Open fissures extend nearly north and south, 
from which springs issue. There occurs along the hillsides north and 
west of Lampasas a very hard conglomerate, composed of pebbles of 
red, mottled red and white, light and dark blue crystaline limestone or 
marble, and light blue to white flints, in a very hard cement composed 
of fine fragments of the same material. This conglomerate is appar- 
ently without bedding planes. It is believed to be pre-Cretaceous, for 
the reason that it underlies and is harder than the known Trinity con- 
glomerate here, and to all appearance is composed of pre-Carboniferous 
materials. Satisfactory connection could not be found between it and 
the known Carboniferous rocks. 

Upon the north and northeast side of Donaldson creek valley the 
Trinity conglomerate rests in unconformability upon these limestones, 
sandstones and shales of the Carboniferous and upon the hard con- 
glomerates. . 

Carboniferous limestones occupy the western and southern portions 
of the area, and rise toa much higher elevation beneath the Trinity 
conglomerate than do the Paleozoic rocks upon the north and northeast 
sides. 


TOPOGRAPHY OF THE PALEOZOIC FLOOR WEST OF LAMPASAS. » 


Erosion followed close upon the edge of the Trinity sand, obliter- 
ating the topography that existed, as the Paleozoic floor was covered by 
Cretaceous sediment. A fair idea of the then existing surface features 
can be obtained now by following closely along the Trinity border, ex- 
amining the structure and character of materials entering into its 
geology, and making a profile of its contacts with the Paleozoic rocks. 


330 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


The Trinity, along the main Cretaceous border, which extends across 
Burnet and Lampasas counties, and in the denuded area at Lampasas, 
furnishes an exceedingly interesting and instructive study. | 

As has been said for the main border across Burnet county, the 
Trinity conglomerates and sand rest upon an uneven base, rising rap- 
idly in elevation, from the Colorado river at the Travis-Burnet county line 
to the northern line of Burnet county, thinning in their course from heavy ~ 
beds of conglomerate to thin beds of local sub-angular pebbles and 
bowlders. At the same time beds of limestone, that rest high above 
the Trinity at the southern border of the county, approach the hase 
of the Cretaceous toward the northern line. The Trinity bed increases 
in volume again as we go northward from the Lampasas and Burnet 
county line. 

We have seen that the Trinity conglomerate occurs in thick beds 
around the north and northeast borders of the denuded area at Lam- 
pasas, and that its basal contact rises on the south side, while its beds 
decreased rapidly in that direction. The character of the conglomerate 
around the perimeter of Carboniferous area at Lam’pasas has a very 
local aspect. ‘The basal beds are almost without structure, and the 
hard sub-angular limestone and flint pebbles and the bowlders compos- 
ing them can, in a great measure, be identified, as to their age and 
origin, by the. parent rock in the vicinity. The large and small 
bowlders and pebbles occur together without much order of separation, 
cemented in a moderately hard lime matrix. 

These gravel and bowlder deposits are clearly of beach formation, 
and were laid down against a Paleozoic ridge which extended from the 
‘Central Mineral Region’’ in a general east-northeast direction from 
northern Burnet county. ‘The town of Lampasas is upon the northern 
and the town of Burnet upon the southern side of this geanticlinal 
ridge. 

HY DROGRAPHY. 


The whole of this region belongs to the hydrographic systems of the 
Colorado and Brazos rivers. 

COLORADO-BRAzZOS WATER-SHED.—A narrow sinuous plateau 
crosses the Lampasas county line very near the southwest corner of 
Hamilton county, and bears toward the southeast one mile east of 
Montvale and one and one-half miles east of Nix. The Nix-Burnet 
public road crosses the county line upon the plateau. Naruna and 
Dobyville, in Burnet county, are upon it, and it passes about two miles 
east of the town of Burnet. From near Burnet the divide bears nearly 
due southeast into Travis county, two miles south of its northwest 
corner. The north line of. Travis county marks the summit of the 
divide across the northern border of the county. 

This plateau extends sub-parallel.to, and on an average of about 


9 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. oer 


twenty miles from, the Colorado river. Many gaps have been eroded 
in it by the tributaries of the Colorado on the one side and of the Lam- 
pasas and San Gabriel on the other. As soon as the beds of the 
Fredericksburg division have been removed Born the summit of the 
plateau it becomes a sharp ridge. 

CoLORADO RIVER DRAINAGE.—From the water-shed east of the- 
Colorado the drainage bears directly toward the river. In Lampasas 
are Antelope, Salt and Lynch creeks, and in Burnet are Deer, Beaver, 
Morgan, Clear, Spring, Hamilton, Hairston, Sycamore and Hickory 
creeks, which rise in the Cretaceous border and flow into the Colorado 
almost at right angles with the general direction of the river. All of 
these creeks exhibit typical illustrations of headwater erosion in the 
Cretaceous. Each one has carved out a small embayment in the Cre- 
taceous border by source erosion alone, for it is rarely more. than one 
mile from the extreme source of the different branches of the creeks 
to the base of the Cretaceous rocks. 

The fall of the tributary streams of the Colorado river west of the 
water-shed is very much greater per mile than that of the tributaries 
of the Brazos on the east side. Hence the tendency is for the Colorado 
drainage to steal that of the Brazos as the border is moved eastward 
by the deeper headwater erosion of its tributary streams. 

BRAZOS RIVER DRAINAGE.—East of the water-shed plateau noted 
above, the remainder of Lampasas and Burnet counties and the whole 
of Williamson county belongs to the hydrographic basin of the Brazos 
river and is drained by the Lampasas and San Gabriel rivers and their 
tributaries. 

LAMPASAS RIVER DRAINAGE.—Beginning in the northwest corner 
of Lampasas county, the Lampasas river flows from Hamilton county 
' across Lampasas, nearly parallel to the county line, into and across the 
northeast corner of Burnet, and into Bell county where it joins the 
Leon, forming Little river. There are many important tributaries to the 
Lampasas upon the west side of its hydrographic basin. ‘These are Ben- 
nett, Sims, School, Big Lucy, Sulphur, with its branches (Donaldson and 
Burleson), and Mesquite creeks with their various branches and smaller 
feeders. All of these bear nearly east, except Big Lucy creek, which 
flows southeast, and Mesquite, which flows northeast. These creeks 
-are fed by many perennial and periodical springs which have their 
sources of supply in the alternating arenaceous strata of the Glen Rose 
beds. In the case of Sulphur creek, the abundant water has its source 
in the magnificent sulphur springs at Lampasas, which issues from fis- 
sures in Paleozoic rocks. ‘The character and occurrence of these springs 
at Iampasas is in no way connected with the artesian water supply of 
this region. The source of their waters is unknown, and is probably 
_beyond the reach of well boring. ‘The east side of the hydrographic 
* basin of Lampasas river in Lampasas county is very small—on an aver- 


332- CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


age less than six miles wide, and the tributaries are mere branches. 
With the exception of White creek, in the northern portion, none are 
of sufficient importance to have names. 

The Lampasas and Leon river water-shed is exactly similar in charac- 
ter to that of the Colorado and Brazos rivers, and extends parallel to 
it practically along the Lampasas and Coryell county line. It is cap- 
ped by similar beds of rocks, namely: the Comanche Peak and Caprina 
beds, which have been removed from above the Lampasas river basin 
by erosion. As is the case with the Colorado river, the Lampasas flows 
closely upon the east side of its hydrographic basin. Its tributaries 
also upon the east side have very precipitous inclines. ‘The reason for 
this is very evident: The river runs nearly south; the rocks dip east- 
southeast; the general dip of the country is toward or with the dip of 
the rocks; and erosion is greatest against the edge of the strata and 
along the line of the dip. 

The south fork of Donaldson creek, Mesquite creek, Rocky creek, 
with its north and south forks, and Mill creek, which belongs to the 
Lampasas drainage, compose the hydrography of northeastern Burnet 
county. These creeks all flow toward the northeast. Rocky creek is 
the only one wholly within the limits of Burnet county. 

The economic importance of the Lampasas river valley to Lampasas 
and Burnet counties, extending as it does the whole length of the former, 
is almost beyond estimate as an artesian basin. (See Artesian Water.) 

SAN GABRIEL RIVER DRAINAGE.—The North Fork of the San Ga- 
briel, with its complements, Russell Fork and Bear creek, and South 
Fork, with its unnamed tributaries, rise in the Colorado-Brazos divide 
and flow east-southeast into Williamson county, draining about one- 
fourth of Burnet county. 

The whole of Williamson county belongs to the San Gabriel drainage, 
with the exception of Salado creek, in the northwest, which is tributary 
to the Lampasas river, and Donahoe creek, in the northeast, which flows 
into Little river. Brushy creek, which flows into San Gabriel river in 
Milam county, drains the southern portion, while the main San Gabriel, 
with its two branches, the North and South Forks, drains the central 
and northern portion. The general bearing of the streams within the 
county is nearly east. 

Salado creek rises very near the northwest corner of Williamson, and — 
flows southeast nearly ten miles, then east, and then northeast into Bell 
county about twelve miles east of the northwest corner. Donahoe creek 
rises in Bell, near the center of the south side, and flows into William- 
son county three miles east of Bartlett. 

Williamson and Opossum creeks, which rise at Corn Hill, and two 
miles southeast of Corn Hill respectively, flow southeast, joining their 
waters two miles southwest of Granger. Williamson creek continues — 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 339 


eastward and joins the San Gabriel about five miles west of the Wil- 
liamson-Milam county line. 

Berry’s creek begins in the edge of Biches county, four miles south- 
west of the junction of the lines of Burnet, Bell and Williamson coun- 
ties, and flows southeast through a narrow valley and joins the San 
Gabriel river four miles below Georgetown, 

North Fork of San Gabriel enters Williamson county four miles 
northwest of Gabriel Mills and flows east-southeast to Georgetown, 
and then nearly east to Circleville, from which point it bears east- 
northeast to the Milam county line. This stream rises high upon the 
beds of the Fredericksburg and flows down upon the rocks through a 
wide sloping valley to Gabriel Mills, where it begins to rise or rather 
pass upon beds of higher rocks. ‘The valley continues wide with gently 
sloping sides. ‘Twelve miles above Georgetown heavy beds of lime- 
stones and flint approach the river valley and form precipitous and high 
bluffs. ‘The valley here becomes narrow and level, extending up to 
the base of the bluff. At Georgetown the Balcones fault has thrown 
these heavy beds of limestone down below the level of the river-valley. 
Here the topography changes, the river valley becomes wider and the 
hills rolling. 

South Fork of San Gabriel crosses the Burnet-Williamson county 
line one mile south of the Austin and Northwestern Railway. The 
valley is not so wide, on an average, as that of the North Fork. The 
massive limestones and flints approach near the flood basin of the river 
and form bluffy valley walls. Now the river flows against one side of 
the valley and forms perpendicular cliffs, then further down it flows 
against the other side, shifting the river bottom, or valley base, from 
one side to the other. This prong of the San Gabriel joins with the 
North Fork at Georgetown. _ 

The various small branches of Brushy creek have their source in the 
Colorado-Brazos plateau between Bagdad and Breuggerhoff, near the 
Travis-Williamson county line. The two main prongs, Dry and Run- 
ning Brushy creeks, join four miles above Round Rock. From Round 
Rock Brushy creek flows east-southeast until it approaches very near 
the Travis county line south of Taylor, where it turns to the northeast, 
passing the east line of Williamson county two miles south of Thorn- 
dale. Channel, McNutt, Battleground, Mustang and Turkey are small 
affluents of Brushy creek on the north side. Lake and Boggy creeks 
are feeders on the south side. 

SPRINGS.— Upon all of the creeks which flow eastward over Creta- 
ceous rocks in Lampasas and Burnet counties, and Williamson county 
west of Round Rock, Georgetown and Corn Hill, there are many: 
springs flowing during a part or all of the year. Very few of them 
(except those to be noted below as flowing from fissures) afford abund- 
-ance of water; but where their waters accumulate, living streams are 


334 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


formed. During a long drought, however, many of these springs fail, 
and water even for culinary supply must be sought in wells. 

The source of supply of springs of this class is local, and the abund- 
ance of supply is governed by the local catchment area and the annual 
rainfall. For an illustration, take the valley of South Rocky creek in 
Burnet county, and make a section of the rocks down it from Mesquite 
creek valley. 

Much of the water that flows in Mesquite creek and that falls as rain 
upon the southern slopes of the valley enters certain underlying porous 
strata and follows them down until it reaches the surface in the valley 
of Rocky creek. During the rainy seasons of the year these porous 
arenaceous beds are filled and act as reservoirs for the spring until they 
are exhausted by a long drought. 

Upon the southeastward sloping valley sides these water-bearing 
beds may be penetrated by wells, for which they will furnish abundant 
supplies of water; but upon the valley sides which slope toward the 
northwest much less, and in some cases, no supply can be expected. 

Many beautiful springs, natural artesian wells, gush forth from fis- 
sures in the limestone rock along the valleys of the North and South 
Forks near Georgetown. ‘There is a cluster of beautiful and bold 
springs issuing from the banks of San Gabriel on Senator Glasscock’s 
property opposite the city waterworks below Georgetown, giving forth 
many thousand gallons of water per hour. 

A large spring bursts forth from the top of the bluff on the east side © 
of North Fork San Gabriel four miles above Georgetown, pouring out 
four thousand gallons per hour. A cluster of springs breaks out upon 
the south side of North San Gabriel valley, eight miles above George- 
town, on the property of Mr. Crockett. ‘These springs join their waters 
at the border of the valley, and by simply directing the flow Mr. 
Crockett irrigates successfully a beautiful vegetable farm of seventeen 
acres. ‘The principal spring bursts forth from beneath a bluff of lime- 
stone, at Mr. Crockett’s house, nearly one hundred feet above the base 
of the river, and has formed a bluff of tufaceous lime two hundred 
yards long and twenty feet high, the edge, over which the waters fall, 
being now nearly three hundred feet from the spring. 

An excellent spring issues from an opening in the Balcones fault, in 
the bed of Brushy creek, on the northeast side of Round Rock. Above 
Round Rock many others break out from fissures or joints in the rock 
along the creek for several miles in sufficient volume to cause a con- 
tinual stream. 

At Town’s Mill, six miles east of Georgetown, living springs of on 
volume issue me joints and small faults in the limestone. 

A number of springs occur along the south side of San Gabriel river 
valley from four to eight miles from the Williamson county line. ' 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 335 


These springs have their source in the drift which occupies the high 
land in eastern Williamson county. 

Many feet of gravel drift have been deposited upon a floor of imper- 
vious marl. ‘Water falling upon the surface as rain finds its way to the 
base of the drift and issues in springs at the edge of the river valley. 
Many of these springs have a considerable volume and a perpetual 
flow. 


BOSQUE DIVISION. 
ce. Paluxy-. sand. 
b. Glen rose (Alterating) limestone. 
a. ‘Trinity sand. 


TRINITY SAND. 


The Trinity occurs along the base of the escarpment at Nix, between 
Nix and the south line of the county, at the base of Twin Sisters Peaks, 
between Twin Sisters Peaks and Montvale along the western base of 
the high plateau; on the branches of Salt creek near the Gulf, Colorado 
and Santa Fe Railway, and at the base of the escarpment southwest 
and northwest of Antelope Gap on the head branches of Antelope creek. 

A zone of Trinity conglomerates crops out around the perimeter of the 
Carboniferous area at Lampasas. Extending west from Lampasas, it 
occurs along the north side of Donaldson creek valley to the Lampasas 
and Nix road. From the Lampasas-Nix road, it bears nearly south to 
the south fork of Donaldson creek, whence it takes a northwesterly bear- 
ing passing along the south side of the creek valley and crossing Sulphur 
creek about two miles below the town. From the point of crossing on 
Sulphur creek it occurs along the hillsides east, north and west of Lam- 
pasas. 

In the vicinty of Nix the basal beds of the Trinity are composed of 
a conglomerate of Carboniferous and Silurian limestone, quartz, flint, 
and other Paleozoic material, cemented in a matrix of arenaceous and 
argillaceous lime. Small fragments of sand and gravel compose much 
of the matrix, which is in some cases iron-stained and very hard. ‘The 
whole mass has a mottled appearance from the variously colored ma- 
terials composing it. The colors are pink, red, yellow, purple, brown, 
and several shades of blue. The materials which compose the con- 
glomerate vary much in size, being from fine pebbles to bowlders eight 
inches in diameter. Their form indicates that they have been subjected 
to different degrees of abrasion. Some of them are sub-angular frag- 
ments, while others are smooth and well rounded; and between these 
grades there may be seen fragments of rocks showing all varieties of 
form and smoothness of surface. 

There is a general stratification in these basal beds, but the materials 
which compose them are not well sorted as to size. The immediate 
impression upon an examination of this heterogeneous conglomerate 


336 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH’ OF THE COLORADO. 


is, that there was a commingling on the shores of the sea of materials 
brought from a distance and local debris. This coarse material grad- 
ually becomes less conglomeritic on ascending the beds, giving place to 
a mass of loosely bedded materials composed of grits, typical ‘‘pack- 
sand,’’ lime marl, and calcareous sandstone. ‘The whole grades imper- 
ceptibly into the more calcareous and marly strata of the Alternating | 
series. The ‘‘packsand’’ varies in texture from a compact, non-indu- 
rated,. yellowish mass of coarse sand, quartz and chert pebbles, to a 
more close-grained, stratified, calcareous sandstone, brown to whitish 
in color. Strata of limy sand occur in thin variable beds. 2 

The whole of the Trinity at Nix will not exceed fifty feet. Twenty 
to twenty-five feet of the basal portion will include the conglomerate. 
The ‘‘packsand’’ ‘with associated material is thirty feet thick. The 
upper half contains the more calcareous sandstone, lime, and marly 
material. | 

The parting line between the Trinity and Alternating beds is neces- 
sarily an arbitrary one from a stratigraphic point of view, and there is 
no other means of distinction. Yetin the more limy thin bands within 
the limits of the sand, near its upper limit, there are casts ‘of gaster- 
opods and small bivalves not distinguishable from casts of like forms 
in the Alternating series. 


GLEN ROSE (ALTERNATING) BEDS. 


The sandy beds of the Trinity are succeeded by about eighty feet of 
true Alternating beds at Nix and in Twin Sisters Peaks. These beds. 
become less arenaceous and more marly and calcareous on going from 
base to upper limit. The characteristic nature of the Alternating 
series is well shown. Soft, impure limestone, alternating with layers 
of marly lime and soft yellow, calcareous sandstone, the whole being 
stratified in thin beds dipping gently and regularly toward the south- 
east. ‘These are distinguishing characteristics of the series. 

The lime marl and sandy strata readily disintegrates and falls into a 
marly earth, yellow to white in color, while the harder lime layers are 
slower of disintegration, remaining as slightly projecting benches, 
breaking into fragments of stone and crumbling lumps as the softer 
bands fall away from beneath them. ‘The stratification of these beds 
is very marked and readily. perceived on account of the varying hard- 
nesses of the rock. ‘The strata vary in thickness usually from a few 
inches to an extremely thin laminated band, but in places a more mas- 
* sive stratum of limestone or calcareous sandstone occurs. 

The Alternating beds proper are not so thick near the western bor- 
der at Nix and Twin Sisters Peaks as they are further southeast. In 
Twin Sisters Peaks, about ninety feet is shown to occur, while at Bach- 
elor Peak, eighteen miles to the southeast, they show a thickness of 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 337 


over two hundred feet. As the beds develop, there is a general thick- 
ening of the individual strata. 

FAUNAL SuBDIVISIONS.—A horizon of small Hxogyra (Exogyra sp. 
ind.) occurs in Twin Sisters Peaks fifty feet beneath the summit of the 
series. At Bachelor Peak it is one hundred and fifty feet beneath. 
This is the same bed that occurs on the Colorado section, Bosque sec- 
tion, and in the Weatherford section, as described in the report on the 
Bosque division. 

An extremely fossiliferous horizon occurs two hundred feet below 
the upper edge of the Alternating bedsin Bachelor Peak section, as‘is 
well shown on Mesquite creek northeast of the Peak. Its characters 
are well presented wherever observed. The bed contains well pre- 
served casts of Cardium mediale, 

The bed usually forms bluffs along the creeks, as may be seen at 
the mouth of Pecan branch, northeast of Bachelor Peak. ‘These bluffs 
are composed of beautifully stratified, very arenaceous limestone, blu- 
ish white to gray, which alternates with marly and arenaceous strata 
similarly stratified. The marl is composed of soft laminated limy marl, 
bluish to gray in color. It is crumbling, and weathers out easily, 
causing the harder limestone layers to project in ledges along the bluffs 
and ‘‘brakes’’ of the creeks. ‘This horizon is also well exposed on 
North Rocky and South Rocky creeks, both above and below the cross- 
ing cf the Lampasas and Georgetown road. 

A Caprotina horizon occurs just below the Cardium bed in a band of 
hard arenaceous limestone ten feet thick. The rock weathers with a 
peculiar rough surface. 

Above the Cardium bed about fifty feet, there is a massive bed of 
light yellow magnesian (?) limestone in strata about three feet thick. 

CELESTITE BED.—In a marly bed, below the heavy limestones, 
pockets of celestite were found in the bluffs along Rocky and South 
Rocky creeks. The celestite is very abundant, occurring in very large 
nodules or inclusions. ‘The same horizon occurs on South Rocky creek 
near the Lampasas-Georgetown road, and in a high bluff on the creek 
three miles below the same road crossing. Also abundantly on Donald- 
son creek due east of Nix. Beautiful blue crystals are found in large 
nodules in the yellow arenaceous limestone, and they also occur with 
calcite nodules around the face of the hills north of Nix. 

OCCURRENCE.—The rocks of this bed are exposed along the valley 
of the Lampasas river through Lampasas and Burnet counties as well 
as along every creek valley tributary to this river. ‘The confluents to 
these tributary creeks have also cut valleys for themselves into the 
marl and lime rocks of the Alternating beds, except near the sources 
of the head streams that rise upon the plateau divides between the 
Lampasas and Colorado rivers and between the Lampasas and Leon 
rivers along the east line of Lampasas county. 


338 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


The long arms of high land which extend southeastward between - 
the principal creeks, viz: Bennett, Sims, Big Lucy, Donaldson, Mes- 
quite, North Rocky, South Rocky and Miller creeks, are capped by 
rocks of the Fredericksburg division. Hence the wide or narrow val- 
leys of these creeks have been chiseled out by agents of erosion after 
these agents have cut through the chalky limestones of the Freder- 
icksburg. 

Alternating beds are concealed by higher rocks along the water-shed 
divide, running nearly east and west north of Strickling, Burnet county, 
and Florence, Williamson county, between the hydrographic basin of 
Iampasas and San Gabriel rivers. North Fork of San Gabriel river, — 
with its main tributaries, Russell Fork and Bear creek run through 
valleys of Alternating limestone for a great portion of its course in 
Burnet county. Its exposure of these rocks is narrow, however, and 
contracts continually as it passes southeast in Williamson county, 
until it is carried beneath the surface near Baker’s School House, 
twelve miles above Georgetown. 

These rocks outcrop along the escarpment face on the western border 
of the Colorado-Brazos water-shed, as has already been outlined in the . 
occurrence of the Trinity. They form the upper half of the declivity 
beneath the capping of the Fredericksburg limestone. 


PALUXY SAND. 


The Paluxy sand has avery feeble representative in this section. 
Upon the western border near Nix it is not present in a definable bed. 
Arenaceous limestone, or a very calcareous sandstone, occurs in its 
stead at the summit of the Alternating series. 

An argillaceous calcareous sand, fifteen feet thick, occurs in the base 
of Bachelor’s Peak, Burnet county. Itis between the Alternating and 
Texana beds, and is considered to be a representative of the culminat- 
ing portion of the Paluxy sand bed in this region. This sand crops 
out around the head of North Rocky creek, south and east of Bach- 
elor Peak. Where it occupies a level surface of much extent, ‘‘skirts’’ 
and clumps of timber appear upon it, and it is a source of many small 
springs. Wells sunk into it are abundantly supplied with water. 


FREDERICKSBURG DIVISION. 
Kiainitia clay. 
Austin marble. 
Flag limestone. 
Caprina limestone. 
Comanche Peak limestone.. 
d. ‘Texana limestone. 


TEXANA LIMESTONE. 


This subdivison is limited by the occurrence of the Hxogyra texana 
beneath the Comanche Peak limestone. At the top of the Paluxy 


@ rhog pt 


\ 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. — 339 


sand there occur thin bands of limestone which contain great numbers © 
of this Hxvogyra. It occurs at various localities in the midst of the 
bed and at the summit where the rocks grade into the Comanche Peak 
limestone, without a lithologic change. 

OCCURRENCE OF ExPpoOSURES.—The Texana bed occurs on the slop- 
ing hillsides beneath the-precipitous and bluffy beds of Comanche Peak 
and Caprina limestone, along the sides of the escarpment of the water- 
shed plateaus east, northeast and north of Nix, in Twin Sisters Peaks, 
in Cedar Top Peak, and the line of knobs northwest of it south of 
the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway, aiso on the tops of the hill- 
sides north of Lampasas. | 

Along the section line between the hills east of Nix and Bachelor 
Peak the Texana bed has been removed by the erosion of Donaldson 
and Mesquite creeks. It crops out at the base of Bachelor Peak, and 
forms the surface of the high land east and west of the Peak. It also 
caps the divide between North Rocky and South Rocky creeks north 
of Sunny Lane. It undeflies and forms the rich black lands upon the 
water-shed divide between Rocky creek and San Gabriel river north of 
Mahomet and Strickling. 

Pilot and Black Bald knobs stand upon a plain formed by the Texana 
bed. From Pilot Knob southeast it crops out along the sides of San 
Gabriel river valley, approaching nearer and nearer the river until its 
upper edge reaches the river bed nearly three miles above Georgetown. 
The exposure from Baker’s School House, twelve miles above George- 
town, to the point where it disappears beneath the river’s base, is con- 
fined to the immediate flood basin of the river along its banks and 
beneath the bluffs at the edge of the valley. It occurs in the hills on 
each side of Bear creek and between Bear creek and Russell Fork of 
San Gabriel river ‘ 

CHARACTER AND THICKNESS.—The Texana bed has not as great a 
development in Twin Sisters Peaks and in its occurrence east and 
north of Nix and other points near the western border, as it has in 
Bachelor Peak and Pilot Knob. In Twin Sisters Peak it is nearly 
seventy feet, while in Bachelor Peak it is nearly eighty feet thick. 

Beginning at the base of the bed, and continuing upward for nearly 
forty feet, there are narrow bands of fossiliferous limestone which con- 
tain principally Hxogyra texana, Gryphea pitchert and Trigonia cren- 
ulata, alternating with thick layers of yellow argillaceous lime marl. 

Then there is fifteen feet of massive shell limestone composed almost 
‘wholly of Hrogyra texana, Gryphea pitcherit and Ammonites peruvi- 
anus, or A, acuto-carinatus. 

On the disintegration of this rock the fossils completely cover the 
surface, there being not more than sufficient lime to cause the fossils to 
adhere. Above this, to the top of the bed, there is a zone of chalky 
stratified limestone, grading in color from white to light yellow. This 


340 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


contains numbers of small Gryphcea pitcheri, largest Hxvogyra texana, 
Cyprimeria crassa, Cardium hillanum, Toxaster texanus, Diadema tex- 
anum,andrarely Ammonites pedernalis, ‘The most abundant occurrence 
of the Zowxaster texanus is very near the upper limit of the base. The 
EHxogyra texana attains its greatest size in the chalky limestone at the 
upper limit of the bed. 


COMANCHE PEAK LIMESTONE. 


The basal beds of this subdivision are a continuation of the chalky 
strata of the Texana bed, and as has already been pointed out, the 
contact of the two beds is marked by the disappearance of Hxogyra 
texana fossils. ‘These rocks rise above the Texana bed in a series of 
chalky layers, which increase in massiveness upward until they are 
finally terminated by a massive indurated. and persistent band of chalky 
limestone. ‘This culminating bed is about twenty feet thick, composed 
of layers three to six feet thick. 3 

Distinet faunal horizons were not observed in the Comanche Peak 
limestone. It contains Cardium hillanum, Toxaster texanus, Turritella 
seriatim-granulata, Diadema sp.{?), Cyprimeria crussa, 

The rock of this bed weathers into a mass of white conchoidal frag- 
ments at the surface; and where it occupies a sloping hillside, as in 
Twin Sisters Peaks, Cedar Top Peak and Bachelor Peak, it is barren 
of vegetation except an occasional stunted liveoak tree or scattering 
sedge tufts. Where it occupies a level plateau, and erosion is very 
slight, a rich black residual soil is formed. A typical occurrence under 
this condition is upon a part of the high divide north of San Gabriel 
river, in Burnet county, also upon the ‘‘flat’’ east of Pilot Knob, Burnet 
* county. 

EXPOSURES. —T he section crosses this rock beneath the capping bluff 
in the hills east of Nix, in Bachelor Peak, where it forms the cone of 
the peak, and in the body of Pilot Knob below the cap rock. East of 
Pilot Knob it is the surface rock for one mile. Here the section de- 
scends upon the Texana bed and continues for about two miles, where 
it ascends upon Comanche Peak limestones, and so continues for about 
five miles. At this point it dips beneath Caprina limestones, and is not 
seen again upon the section toward the east. 

It forms the bluffs in part along the side of San Gabriel river valley 
from Baker’s School House to the edge of Georgetown west of the 


great Balcones fault. 
CAPRINA LIMESTONE. 


STRATIGRAPHIC CHARACTER.—(1). The massive layers of the Co- 


manche Peak bed are succeeded by thick bands of limestone, varying ~ 


but little from them in general appearance, except that some of them 
weather in pores until they are a homogeneous mass, or the ‘‘bored 
limestone,’’ as it is known locally. Upon a close examination prints 


aap. & 
ae 
y 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 3841 


and casts of Rudistes, Caprina crassifibra and Caprina sp. ind., may 
be seen inthe limestone. This limestone is the basal zone of the mag- 
nificent Rudistes and Chamide fauna that occur in the Caprina lime- 
stone subdivision. ‘This horizon has a thickness of nearly twenty feet. 

(2). Succeeding these heavy bands of limestone are about thirty-five 
feet of limestone strata, siliceous, hard, from three to five feet thick. 
Where this rock is freshly fractured, it has the appearance of a hard 
crystalline limestone; but upon weathering, fine clear grains of quartz 
sand appear on the surface. Intermediate between some of these layers 
of limestone, and placed in collective strata, there are thin bands of 
fossiliferous, indurated, flinty limestone, resembling quartzite. These 
flinty layers contain many shell fragments, minute gasteropods and 
oolitic grains. Upon weathering these fossils stand in relief on the 
face of the flagstone. | 

(5). Third in the order of succession there are heavy strata of dimen- 
sion limestone having a thickness of about twenty-five feet. At the 
base and at the top of this horizon is a disconnected band of large oval 
agatic flints, white to light blue in color. Some of these flints contain 
cavities lined with beautiful limpid quartz crystals. Some of the lime- 
stone layers are quite siliceous, especially those immediately surround- 
ing the flints. 

(4). A belt of limestone, nearly twenty-five feet thick, overlies the 
agatic flint zone. In this there is very much brown flint in nodular 
bands, which are not continuous. ‘They may be observed in one lo- 
cality in the form of a solid belt of flint-like flagstone, while in another 
place they are either absent or occur as nodules. <A horizon of Capro- 
tina texana (?) occurs in the upper portion of this flinty belt. They 
may be seen upon the surface inclosed in the flint nodules. 

(5). Chalky limestone in thick massive strata, fifteen feet thick. In 
the excellent exposures of the Caprina bed in the bluffs of Barton 
creek, south of Austin, this limestone belt contains layers of ashen blue 
crumbling limestone which are crowded with most beautiful translucent 
calcified fossils of Caprotina, corals, gasteropods and bivalves. Their 
preservation is unique, showing every marking, and in beauty they 
equal living species. These fossils were not seen in the section on 
Brushy creek near Round Rock. On Barton creek a band of black 
flint nodules, which is apparently absent here, occurs immediately 
above this fossiliferous horizon. 

(6). Dull blue limestone, three feet thick, follows upon the massive 
limestone. In this there are many Caprina crassifibra and Caprotina 
sp. ind. 

(7). The next succeeding strata of light blue and white limestone 
contains great numbers of Mippurites flabellifera, Dumble. ‘This fossil 
is so abundant along the banks and bluffs of Barton creek that it is not 


342 CRETACHOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


possible to collect a fragment of one fossil from the rock without the 
destruction of others. 

In the section on Brushy creek black flints occur twenty-seven feet 
below the summit of the Caprina subdivision. Where these appear the 
rock is chalky and in massive beds. The flints occur in the massive 
beds, and between the strata, as broken bands and lens-like nodules. 
These black flints, from their lower to their upper limits, have a range 
‘of twenty-three feet. 

As far as known there is about thirteen feet of barren limestone 
above the Hippurites flabellifera zone. This limestone includes the 
base of the black flint belt. 

(8). There are seven feet of indurated, hard, thick-bedded limestone, 
which contains Caprotina fossils. ‘This much resembles the Austin 
marble, which occurs near the summit of the Fredericksburg division. 

(9). * There isan eight-foot zone of yellow chalky limestone which 
extends nearly to the upper limit of the Caprina bed. In this chalky 
limestone there occur xogyra texana fossils, which have not been seen 
since their occurrence, as noted before, at the base of the Fredericks- 
burg division, nearly two hundred and fifty feet beneath this horizon, 
and they are not known to exist in higher beds. - 

As the rocks of this bed are ascended from the medial portion, the 
limestone is observed to become more nearly pure and more chalky in 
texture, until very near the summit strata are found which are almost 
pure lime, friable and of chalky whiteness. A specimen of a stratum 
of limestone, two to four feet thick, just above the final occurrence of 
the black flint, showed upon analysis 98 per cent of carbonate of lime. 
These chalky layers at the top of the Caprina bed grade gradually up 
into the thinner dimension layers of the flag limestone. The total 
thickness of the Caprina bed is, by the closest estimate, one hundred 
and sixty feet. 

OCCURRENCE.—Along the immediate line of section the Caprina bed 
is exposed from the depot at Georgetown to six miles northwest of the 
town, where it is abruptly cut off and concealed by the Balcones fault. 
The basal portion of the bed only is exposed here, including the agatic 
flint zone. It forms the cap rock of Pilot Knob and of the high divide 
east and north of Nix. | 

The high land between the North and South Forks of San Gabriel 
river is occupied by a part of the Caprina bed. It does not occur east 
of a line drawn from Georgetown to Round Rock, which is the line of 
the Balcones fault. From this line westward it forms the surface coun- 
try rock to the edge of the hydrographic basin of the Colorado river, 
except for a short distance along ‘the immediate valleys of Dry and 
Running Brushy creeks above their junction. 

Brushy creek, with its banks and bluffs, presents from base to top a 


¥ ee as 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 343 


most excellent section of the Caprina bed. At this locality the Bal- 
cones fault intersects Brushy creek east of the occurrence of the lime- 
stone (Caprina), hence the strata are not affected by it. 


FLAG LIMESTONE. * 


This limestone succeeds the last or final chalky horizon of the Cap- 
rina bed which contains the bands of black flint nodules. In Brushy 
creek, at Round Rock, where a representative section is exposed, the 
bed begins at the base with a ledge of siliceous lime two inches thick. 
This is succeeded by about one inch of oolitic semi-crystalline lime- 
stone. Above this ledge there occur flaggy layers, some of which are 
inclined to be chalky, while others are crystalline and finely oolitic. 
From the middle to the top of the bed the rocks are more truly flaggy 
in nature. ‘There are indications, almost throughout the bed, of shal- 
low water action in the oolitic lime and in the wavy lines upon the 
laminated layers. Ripple marks occur upon some of the flagstones, 
though they are nearly pure lime. The nature of the flagstones in 
this respect point to a history of shallow water at sea beyond the reach 
of near-shore deposits. ‘They are practically barren of fossils, small 
fragments of shells only having been seen in them. ‘Their aggregate 
thickness at this locality and on the Colorado river, west of Austin, 
is nearly ten feet. 

The rocks of this bed are involved in the disturbance incident to the 
great fault along the occurrence of their outcrops. Hence in but few 
localities has it been possible to study them satisfactorily. In the val- 
ley of the San Gabriel they have been totally concealed by the down- 
throw of the fault. ; 

AUSTIN MARBLE. f 


This bed as it occurs on Brushy creek, at Round Rock, and at other 


*The flag limestone has been given equal prominence with the Fort Worth 
and Arietina beds of the Washita division, and with the Caprina and Comanche 
Peak beds of the Fredericksburg division, (A Brief Description of the Cretaceous 
Rocks of Texas and Their Economic Uses, R. T. Hill, in the First Annual Re- 
port of the Geological Survey of Texas, page 127), a prominence which it does 
not rightfully deserve. It is local in its occurrence, and is not more extensive or 
prominent than many horizons of like nature within the limits of the Caprina 
subdivision. It is tentatively considered in its relation here given, because of the 
prominence heretofore given it, and because it has not been possible up to the 
present time to give it thorough study. 

+ The name ‘‘Austin marble’? is unsatisfactory and misleading. In only one 
locality, where it is involved in the disturbance of the Balcones fault, does it 
take, in any way, the property of marble. In the quarries west of Austin, and at 
the south base of Mount Bonnell, this rock is a compact cream colored or yel- 
lowish marble, where it was named ‘‘Caprotina limestone, or Austia marble.” 
See Bulletin No. 4, Geological Survey of Texas, R. T. Hill. The term ‘Capro- 
tina limestone’’ is altogether objectionable, as there are several other beds of 
Caprotina limestone below this in the Fredericksburg and Bosque divisions. 


. 


344 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


points along the line of the great fault, is a white, nearly pure lime- 
stone, composed almost wholly of Rudistes, Caprina, and Caprotina 
fossils. - It is the culminating bed for the Caprina and Caprotina forms 
occurring in the beds below. Above this zone of their greatest abun- 
dance no forms of the Chamide have been observed in the Lower Cre- 
taceous series in this region. 

The limits of the Austin marble are clearly defined by the occur- 
rence of the fossils contained in it and by the character of the rock. 
Its chalky whiteness, as it occurs at Round Rock, is a contrast to the 
dull blue flagstones below and to the Kiamitia and Fort Worth lime- 
stones above. Yet it is neither a chalk nor a very hard limestone. 

OccURRENCE.—The Austin marble diminishes in thickness to the 
northward from the Colorado river, as does the Caprina bed below, 
and is not known to occur north of the Brazos river. The whole bed, 
which is about six feet thick, occurs in the bed and banks of Brushy 
creek at Round Rock. Its outcrop here is a few hundred yards west 
of the Balcones fault. As it is traced northward it soon approaches 
and is concealed by having been thrown beneath the surface by the © 
fault. At Georgetown the Fort Worth limestone, which overlies the 
Austin limestone, comes in contact at the fault with the Caprina bed. 


KIAMITIA CLAY. 


In our section the Kiamitia bed is known to occur only at Round 
Rock. It is concealed by the downthrow of the fault in the valley of 
the San Gabriel river. Its rocks have not been observed between 
Brushy creek, in Williamson county, and Trinity river, west of Fort 
Worth. The clay, with included Gryphea bands, crops out along the 
valley of Red River northwest of Gainesville. Still further down the 
valley there are extensive outcrops in the north edge of Grayson county. 
With still greater development the beds appear in the Indian Territory 
at Goodland. : 

In the locality of the section there is no clear line of demarcation 
between the rocks of the Kiamitia and Fort Worth beds. ‘The Kiam- 
itia bed begins at the base in earthy, blue, marly, rather hard limestone, 
and grades up without perceptible change about six feet into the Fort 
Worth beds. ‘The border line is drawn at the upper limit of the occur- 
rence of the Gryphea forniculata phase of the Gryphwa types, and at 
the base of the Hxogyra columbella horizon, which occurs at the border 
between the two beds, north of Denison, in the banks of Duck creek, — 
at which place they may be clearly defined both lithologically and 
paleontologically. The surface character of the rock of this bed here, 
and its effect on the soil or surface conditions, is not perceptibly differ- 
ent from the influence of the body of the Fort Worth limestone. 

The fauna of the Kiamitia bed, so far as it is known, are character- 
istically Fredericksburg forms. ‘The phase of the Gryphcea (G, forni_ 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 345 


culata) occurring in this bed has a range in form from the characteristic 
types to a form very closely related to the G. twcuwmcari. Between 
the Gryphea pitcheri of the Texana bed and the G. washitau of the 
Fort Worth limestone, that of the Kiamitia is more nearly allied to 
the former. 

The Ammonites acuto-carinatus, which occurs so abundantly in the 
Kiamitia bed, is the characteristic ammonite of the Texana bed at the 
base of the Fredericksburg division. It occursin greater numbers near 
the center of the Texana bed than in the Kiamitia clay. 


WASHITA DIVISION. 


1. Vola limestone. 
k. Arietina clay. 
j. Fort Worth limestone. 


FORT WORTH LIMESTONE. 


In general character the Fort Worth limestone is a stratified and 
marly shell limestone, dull blue and earthy colored. It occurs in in- 
durated bands from four to five feet thick down to four or five inches. 
The marly layers alternate with the hard lime bands in thickness of 
six inches and less to thin lamine. The gradation from marly hard 
lime bands is very gradual so that clearly defined lines cannot be drawn 
between them. Upon weathering in bluffs the hard ledges form sloping 
or oval bordered shelves, the center of the marly band being recessed 
furtherest into the bluff. 

In portions of this bed fossil shells form the mass of the rock. Shells 
of Ostrea, Pecten, and Terebratula or casts of Hchinoids, Ammonites, 
and Wautili, either incomplete forms or fragments, occur in every band 
from the base to the top. In some instances, as in the Gryphea 
horizon near the upper portion of the bed, these shells are so numerous 
as to cover completely the surface of the degraded rock. 

FauNAL Horizons.—Exogyra columbella was not known to occur in 
the Texas Cretaceous rock, until late investigation by the Survey in 
North Texas and on Brushy creek in Williamson county, proved that a 
horizon of this fossil occurs at the base of the Fort Worth limestone, 
associated with numerous individuals of Terebratula wacoensis and 
Gryphea washita, 

In the banks of Duck creek, one-fourth mile below the Missouri; 
Kansas and Texas Railway, in Grayson county, it ranges through about 
four feet of indurated and marly limestone, beginning immediately 
above the final occurrence of G. fonniculata and Kiamitia clay: 

The fossil is rarely an inch in length, and is unique in form and in 
beauty of marking. In its occurrence in Brushy creek, at Round Rock, 
it bears the same relations to the Kiamitia and Fort Worth beds as it 
does at Duck creek locality. 


346 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


Through a range of about fifty feet above the Hxogyra columbella 
horizon there occurs a very rich Ammonite fauna. Ammonites and 
Nautili of different species abound in great numbers in a thick-bedded 
hard limestone with narrow partitions of marly lime. Above the Am- 
monites zone, as may be observed in the bluffs of the San Gabriel river, 
one-half mile below the water power station at Georgetown, there is a 
narrow horizon of limestone a few feet in thickness containing echin- 
oids. Above the echinoid horizon there is a zone of marly and thin- 
bedded limestone, which contains numberless individuals of Gryphea 
washita, many Pecten texanus, and also a few Ostrea carinata, occa- 
sional echinoids, Hxogyra walkeri, etc. 

Many Gryphoea washita may be found both above and below this 
horizon, but they occur here in their greatest abundance. Ledges of 
rock several inches in thickness are composed almost wholly of these 
fossil shells. 

As the upper portion of the bed is approached, numerous Hxogyra 
walkert and Ostrea carinata appear. The echinoids and Wawtili occur- 
ring in the horizons of the lower portions of the bed are quite numerous 
here also. An occasional Ostrea subovata is present in this horizon. 
Within four to six feet of the summit of the Fort Worth limestone great 
numbers of Zerebratula wacoensis occur, with occasional Ostrea carinata, 
Nautilus and Pecten. The Terebratula continues in profusion even 
through the transition argillaceous lime between the Fort Worth lime- 
stone and Arietina clay. At the upper edge of this transition band of 
lime and clay Terebratula wacoensis and Exoqyra arietina fossils are in- 
termingled in the rock. 

The horizons or zones indicated above for the occurrence of each 
characteristic Washita or Fort Worth fossil form is not the limit of its 
culmination or locality of its greatest abundance. The Zerebratula 
wacoensis, for instance, ranges from the base of the Hxogyra columbella 
zone upward to the base of the Hxogyra arietina clay. 

LocALIry.—On the San Gabriel river, opposite Georgetown, a few 
feet of the basal portion of the Fort Worth limestone is concealed by 
the downthrow of the Balcones fault. Below the fault these rocks have 
many beautiful exposures for two and one-half miles below the river. 

At Georgetown, for nearly one-half mile along the river banks, and 
at the base of the high bluffs one-half mile below the water power 
station, the lower portion of the bed, including the Ammonite zone, is 
exposed. The high bluff designated above exhibited the Gryphwa 
horizon for many hundred feet along the north side of the river. Large 
bowlders and fragments of the rock lie in heaps at the base of the bluffs 
displaying the rich fossil fauna. 

Extensive exposures of the upper division of the bed occur along the 
river, from two to three miles below Georgetown, at the base of the 


~~ 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 347 


_ high bluff of Arietina clay and Vola limestone. Portions of the bed 
may be seen along Berry’s creek, from two to three miles above its 
mouth. 

The Balcones fault cuts the Fort Worth limestone on Brushy creek, 
at Round Rock, and conceals nearly one hundred feet of its strata by 
downthrow on the east side of its fault line. ‘The lower portion of the 
bed, however, including the Hxogyra columbella and a part of the Am- 
monites zone, is well exposed along the banks of ‘the creek. | Portions 
of the bed crop out in a narrow belt between Round Rock and George- 
town. 

ARIETINA CLAY. 


The Arietina clay is the most peculiar geologic formation in the 
whole of the Lower Cretaceous. ‘The occurrence of a continuous bed 
of clay, of almost. unvarying thickness, from the Brazos river to the 
Rio Grande, a distance of nearly four hundred miles, is a feature worthy 
of special note. The characteristic and unique Hxogyra arietina of 
this bed occurs in the greatest abundance wherever the bed is found. 

The change is abrupt and complete, lithologically, from the Terebra- 
tula horizon of the Fort Worth limestone below to the Arietina clay, 
and the line of demarcation between the clay and Vola limestone above 
is equally as abrupt and sharply defined. The-limestone of the Zere- 
bratula horizon is compact, while the clay is friable in structure and 
disintegrates readily when exposed. 

The clay is blue in color, from particles of iron pyrites disseminated 
through it. When the clay has disintegrated these particles of pyrites 
decompose, giving it by the oxidation of the iron, various shades of 
coloring from blue to deep yellow. At the same time the sulphur com- 
ponent of the pyrites combines with the sulphuric acid and lime con- 
stitutents of the clay and forms gypsum. Crystals of selenite from this 
source occur in abundance on the surface and disseminated in the clay 
and in joints and small fissures at a certain stage in the decomposition 
from clay to soil. 

Laminations show in the clay wherever fresh weathered surfaces are 
exposed. ‘This is especially apparent in the upper portion of the clay, 
where also Hxogyra arietina fossils form flaggy stones, the fossils being 
cemented together by ferruginous lime. Thin flags of laminated aren- 
aceous and argillaceous lime occur also near the upper edge of the 
Arietina clays. 

FAUNAL SUBDIVISIONS.—xogyra arietina is present in many or few 
numbers throughout the clay, but its zone of prevalence is near the 
center of the bed. Through a range of-nearly fifteen feet from the 
center of the bed upward, this beautiful fossil is found in countless 
numbers in the clay, and forms masses of rock. As the clay’ disinte- 
grates, the fossil remains as a mantle covering the surface. With the 


348 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


FExogyra arietina in this central zone, there are Ostreasp. ind. and @ry- 
phoa pitcher’, Morton, var. navia, Hall, and Pecten tevunus(?). Tere- 
bratula wacvensis, as above cited, occurs at the base, associated with 
Exogyra arietina. Both are found from four to six inches above the 
base of the bed, which is considered to begin with the lowest Axogyra 
urietind fossil. 

As the upper border of the Arietina clay is approached, many Gry- 
phea pitcheri var. navia, may be seen weathering out of the clay with 
Pecten quadricostatus and Ostreu sp. ind. The Gryphwa increases in 
numbers upward from its lowest occurrence to the parting between the 
clay and Vola limestone. These fossils form a coating on the base of 
the limestone, and occur in great numbers in the edge of the clay. 

Loca, DISTRIBUTION.—High bluffs of Arietina clay form the south 
bank of San Gabriel river, two or three miles below Georgetown. Its 
occurrence in the base of the river is concealed by the lake formed by 
the dam of Town’s mill. 

The clays crop out in the escarpment slopes two miles east, southeast 
and south of Georgetown. It approaches the Georgetown and Round 
Rock road three miles south of Georgetown, and continues in a narrow 
belt of exposure nearly due south to Brushy creek at Round Rock. 
At this point it is nearly concealed by the downthrow of the Balcones 
fault, only about ten: feet of the upper edge of the clay remaining at 
the surface. 


VOLA LIMESTONE. 


The Vola limestone is the uppermost subdivision or bed of the Washita 
division, and is the final bed of the Lower Cretaceous throughout Cen- 
tral and Southern Texas. 

North of Bosque river mid-Cretaceous erosion and overlap of the 
rocks of the Red River division has removed or concealed the Vola 
limestone. South of the Bosque river it is the floor for the lowest mem- 
ber of the Upper Cretaceous series. 

In the western limits of Austin this bed is nearly eighty feet thick. 
From this place it decreases in thickness northward at the rate of about 
two feet per mile. At Round Rock-it is nearly twenty feet thick, and 
on the San Gabriel it has diminished to less than ten feet. When frac- 
tured freshly the surface presents a mottled face. The rock, a gray or 
light blue limestone, is seen to be filled with minute red specks and 
pink splotches. Under the microscope some of these unoxidized parti- 
cles present a greenish tinge, indicating probably that they are particles 
of volcanic ash, thrown down during the deposition of the limestone. 4 
A thorough microscopic study has not been made of the rocks. | 

This limestone is stratified in massive layers two to six feet thick. 


- *See Bulletin No. 4, Geological Survey of Texas, page 24. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 349 


It contains an abundant fauna of Pecten ( Vola) roemeri, Hill, a large 
Nerinea sp. ind. and bivalves undetermined. 

The Gryphea pitcheri var. navia, which occurs at the base of the 
limestone and in the clay below, passes upward into the limestone as 
far as one foot. This fossil forms the basal band of limestone. Above 
this, however, it is not seen again. 

SURFACE EXxPposuRES.—A low bench of this limestone caps the high 
bluff two. to three miles below Georgetown on the south side ot the San 
Gabriel river, and forms the crest of the escarpment that extends from 
the west end of this bluff around the valley two to three miles east and 
southeast, and three miles south of Georgetown. From the road three 
miles south of Georgetown it continues south, capping the low escarp- 
ment to Brushy creek opposite Round Rock. 

The presence of the Vola limestone has caused the bluff and escarp- 
ment above noticed. The Arietina clay ‘‘slacks,’’ and falls a ready 
prey to agents of erosion, but it is held in check and protected by the 
overlying bed of Vola limestone. As the clay gives way beneath the 
limestone, bowlders and fragments of this rock fall down the bluff or 
.escarpment face on the clay. Hence the eighty feet of clay rarely has 
even one-fourth mile exposure width, while the Vola limestone projects 
in the form of a bench from the top of the bluff or hill, or remains as 
bowlders on the surface. 

Vola limestone occurs exposed in the bed of San Gabriel river for 
one mile below Town’s mill dam, until concealed by Eagle Ford shale. 
It also occurs along the banks of Brushy creek from the Balcones fault 
at Round Rock to very near the mouth of Channel creek. 


UPPER CRETACEOUS SERIES. 


dd. Eagle Pass (Ponderosa or Blue Marl) Division. 

ec. Austin Limestone Division. 

bb. _Eagle Ford Shales Division. 

aa. Red River (Lower Cross Timbers) Division. 

The Upper Cretaceous, as a whole, may be classed as a marl. North 
of the Brazos river only do the basal rocks take the character of sand- 
stone. Hxclusive of the sand bed at the base of the Upper Cretaceous, 
which is occupied by the Lower Cross Timbers, the prevailing rock 
elements are clay, lime and sand, in the order given. Though the 
rocks vary in color and durability, resistance to destructive elements 
of erosion, amount of organic matter, relative quality of clay, lime and 
siliceous sand, they may all nevertheless be justly classed as a marl. 
With the exception of local indurations and nodular segregations, the 
beds are all composed of friable, yielding rock. 


RED RIVER (LOWER CROSS TIMBER) DIVISION. 


These rocks do not occur south of the Brazos river. Whether they 
have representatives in the Hagle Ford shales here, is as yet a question. 


4 


350 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


EAGLE FORD SHALES. 


In the locality of the Lampasas-Williamson section, beds of the 
Eagle Ford shales are exposed only on San Gabriel river below Town’s 
mill, and on Brushy creek, three miles below Round Rock. Hlse- 
where, between San Gabriel river and Brushy creek, the rock is con- 
cealed by surface soil and drift which prevails over a considerable por- 
tion of the Upper Cretaceous here. 

These beds are beautifully exposed in bluffs ten to forty feet high, 
immediately below Town’s mill and one mile below the mill, on San 
Gabriel river, and they show large lens-like lenticular bands of arena- 
ceous limestone interstratified at the base with flaggy arenaceous and 
pyritous shale. Above this there follow stratified and laminated layers 
of bituminous dark blue shale, light yellow very calcareous shale, 
bright yellow laminated clay to calcareous chalky soft flagstones at the 
top. ‘There are many shades of color from dark blue to bright yellow 
and white. 

Ammonites sp. ind. occur in the lenses and lenticular bands of: indu- 
rated lime at the base of the bed. 

Fish bones and teeth are scattered in the arenaceous flaggy and. 
pyritous shale. Flaggy layers contain numerous small undetermined 
Ostrea. A band of blue granular shale, near the center of the bed, 
contains many small brown scales, beautifully marked. Higher strata 
carry numerous individuals of a large flat Jnoceramus. Fragments of 
fish bones and teeth can be detected throughout the whole bed. An 
occasional thin band is composed almost wholly of fragmentary fish 
remains. Upon striking this shale sharply with a hammer, or upon 
rubbing two pieces of shale briskly together, a feted odor as of bitumen 
or of crude petroleum is produced. 

In Williamson county, as well as at all other points south of the _ 
Bosque river where it has been observed, the Eagle Ford shale rests 
upon the Vola limestone in perfect stratigraphic conformity. 


/ 


AUSTIN LIMESTONE. 


The study of these rocks upon the line of this section in Williamson 
county is not considered to apply to the bed generally. Instead, it is 
a local work in a special field of a thick deposit of limestone, inex- 
haustible almost, yet varying in its store of scientific interest and 
economic value. The known linear extent of this limestone in the 
State, as outlined by the Survey, is not less than six hundred miles, 
with an average width of six miles. Its area is therefore not less than 
three thousand six hundred square miles. ‘The work then upon these 
beds in the locality here can be no more than an introduction to the 
work to be done before it can be said to be completed. 

THICKNESS AND CHARACTER.—'! he exact thickness of the Austin 
limestone could not be accurately estimated on account of the disturb- 


: A 


ae 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. DOL 


ances incident to the Balcones fault, which passes west of its border 
through Round Rock and Georgetown. Small faults, with throws 
both east and west, transect the beds at short intervals and cause the 
dips to vary to such a degree that they are not reliable. They vary 
locally, from 5 degrees toward the southeast to zero, and in a few in- 
stances are slightly reversed. By an estimate based upon the Eagle 
Ford shale, whose thickness could be determined, and which is beneath 
the Austin limestone, the base of the limestone was found to dip about 
south 30 degrees east nearly one hundred feet per mile. ~The average 
width of the limestone, on a level surface in the direction of the dip, 
is nearly six miles. The thickness, then, by the clearest estimate, is 
six hundred feet in Williamson county. 

The rock is a comparatively firm chalky limestone at the base, marly 
to arenaceous lime in the central portion, and lime marl at the top. The 
whole is stratified in beds from six inches to ten feet thick, light blue to 
cream-colored before oxidation, and cream-colored to pure white after 
long exposure. ‘There are rarely thin bands of white argillaceous blue 
lime, which crumbles readily on exposure. Along bluffs and banks of 
creeks these argillaceous bands form recesses by rapid disintegration, 
leaving the more indurated limestone layers projected in parallel benches. 
Even in the thick bed there is much variation in their resistance to 
weather, which is governed by the varying percentage of siliceous ma- 
terial of which they are composed. 

From the base upward, for about two hundred feet, the limestone is 
in its purest state, and occurs in massive beds from two or three to ten 
. feet thick, with borders of slightly argillaceous limestone. Typical 
exposures of this portion occur along the immediate bank of Brushy 
creek, from two and one-half tosix anda half miles below Round Rock. 
A specimen from a massive ledge near the central portion, taken as an 
average specimen, after being compared with many others collected 
from various parts of this lower two hundred feet, presents the follow- 
ing component materials (analysis by Mr. G. H. Wooten): 


ANALYSIS OF AUSTIN LIMESTONE-—BASAL;: PORTION. 


ES SO RR TS | oat ee (ae rp he Ae Oe re ek yee es ae 82 
LUE mn eee Waa TER! Ae a enema 2 en it, Sas 5.94 
Omer OS Rtas Meer ce Ee ces ee ore 28 EAST O 
nT ESI gate 20 8 nes age 2S Sr pag fh on’ pea a SO NS (0) De oo Gent octal neeia ined Pea 
bn Jel e SlaRt Ve Td aie all A eh aL areca a SR EO 42 
RIAA TELE aR CU TED OR IS CARER UR OIT Ye gavin ie A Oat eaawte bay La od Sans b.41 
oa ciiewagra is tl (UU Pe Le 7! o)) SS eee a anne Ce eerie ier a er eR eA ee? ae 1.31 
LR NEL SG es Tig tah OP A Rh od") ON Sam OR > TRL 5 a a da 37.84 
PST DOES pe a VEE Pgh ESS C0 A RE A PA, we | 2 Us Se .20 
Suet UE ee RT AGen Bites Re EA oo Cy AP Bere cet Memes mr yh ge Ae Wg 2.60 
EA EN PTLOTA, SLCICM Veet MMR ML AWA, AP cj cess, oS. lb ghana oft noPAanE ETS ny sageha a, Ve 142 


é 


359 ' CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


From this analysis it is seen that the rock is low in sand and clay, 
while the carbonate of lime approaches nearly eighty-five per cent. 

In this part of the rock there are very many specimens of large Jnoce- 
rami. Onaccount of the transverse crystallization of their pseudomor- 
phic shells, it was almost impossible to take them from the rock. An 
occasional Ammonite occurs associated with the large Znocerami, 

ARENACEOUS HORIZON. —Beginning at the upper edge of the basal 
chalky zone,which crops out in Brushy creek, three miles southwest of 
Hutto, and continuing upon the rocks toward the southeast, the lime- 
stone becomes more arenaceous, and occurs in thinner beds. ‘Two 
miles southwest of Hutto, it weathers into large oval bowlders along 
the creek banks. The intervening marly layers and the extensive 
joints which cross the creek in a north-south direction aids in the 
separation of the limestone into blocks. Large bowlders of several 
tons weight stand apart from the bed resting upon short necks of marly 
lime. This character continues exposed in the banks of Brushy creek 
for nearly four miles, presenting but little variation in character of 
composition, color or fossil fauna. Asa rule this rock has a more dull 
blue earthy tinge than has the purer lime below. 

Besides the Jnocerami which occur in the lower zone, there: are 
present in the arenaceous beds numerous Ammonites, Nautili, Hxogyra 
ponderosa, Grypheu aucella, Pecten, and Trigonia (2). In some of the 
layers occurring in the creek bank, south of Hutto, fragments of Jno- 
cerumét compose considerable portions of the rock. Occasionally /ad- 
tolites austinensis are found. 

The upper layer of the arenaceous lime beds dips beneath the base of 
Brushy creek, opposite Shiloh School House, nearly three miles south- 
east of Hutto. 

An average specimen of the arenaceous zone of the Austin limestone 
shows the following composition, according to the analysis of Mr. G. 
H. Wooten: 


ANALYSIS OF AUSTIN LIMESTONE—CENTRAL ARENACEOUS PORTION. 


Water oe og cat el a ig eB con dl 
Silica yc se ee NS oe ee eS 10.32 
Lime) sf oe RAE WS a ee ee) oe ea Oo MASE 
Magnesia. 005 5.05.95) ley 0 el ee a as ee Trace. 
Sulphuric acid) 061-4 ack 2h pe ee Pe oe 1.04 
Alumina’: 2.5 G8) 484 ge ee 2) ce es, Eee 
Ferric oxide +. 4 oc) We ee eT ke es ok ee 1.15 
Carbomic:acid: sf o's leis ge es ee oe 34.44 
Potash: e003 oS ae Oe I Rr at Te ees ode ge CEL 
Sodas. Nos et eee er oa ola a ee 
Phosphoric.acid?.). ° 2". 2g) Sgt ee rece Sore. Cee ee 218 


Totaly sae.) sca 4 Sa ey ae ae naar, Bie ae 100.638 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. B05 


In this case the percentage of sand is ten per cent of the mass, five 
per cent more than the percentage of sand in the basal bed, and the 
lime has decreased an equal percentage: 

AUCELLA HorRiIzon.—One-fourth mile above Shiloh School nates 
on the south side of Brushy creek, there is a bluff sixty feet high ex- 
posing Austin limestone above the arenaceous zone. ‘The rock is less 
indurated than the limestone below. Upon exposure it ‘“‘slacks’’ and 
crumbles, falling into lumps. The following is a section of the bluff 
in descending order: 

4. Chalky lime, breaking into lumps, and yellow pulverulent earth, con- 
taining great numbers of Hxogyra ponderosa in sizes of from one 
inch to six inches in diameter. At the base fossils of Exogyra 
ponderosa are commingled with very small Grpyhea aucella . . . 20 feet. 


3. Chalky limestone, bearing great numbers of Gryph@a aucella with 
few Exogyra ponderosa, alternating with marly lime. Layers are 


Peete Wiaticries Lo stwo feettHick: 0... Sy i eee ee 20 feet. 
2. Alternating chalky marly beds, same as No. 3. Few Axogyra pon- 
derosa, Gryph@a aucella and [nocerami occur here. ....... 20 feet. 


1. Fossiliferous arenaceous limestone, whichis the final layer of the 
arenaceous bed. It contains great numbers of /noceramzi fragments, 
PVAULELE BNA: PIIRIMONIIE. om ieee et cae ow diy. «= > ay or 


MARLY LIME ZONE.—The remaining portion of the Austin lime- 
stone is best exposed ‘in the high bluffs on San Gabriel river, one and 
two miles below Jonah postoffice. This zone forms the bond or tran- 
sition bed, lithologically, between the Austin limestone and the 
Blue Marl. 

The bluffs above cited exhibit beautiful exposures of marly lime strata 
succeeded by layers of lime marl, the two separated by flaggy bands of 
arenaceous marl three to four inches thick. From the base of the bluff 
upward twenty feet the marly lime is clearly stratified in layers of from 
a few inches to two or three feet. The layers weather irregularly, the 
more marly falling away and leaving the pure lime with projecting edges. 
Upon fresh fracture the marly lime shows a dull blue color, but on 
weathering it turns a bright yellow, from oxidation of the component 
pyrites of iron. 

These strata carry large Hxogyra ponderosa, and an oyster resembling 
O. subovata, and a small narrow-beaked oyster. 

The arenaceous flaggy layer at the upper limit of the marly lime is 
considered as the limit of the Austin limestone., Above this layer the 
rock partakes of the character and fauna more strictly of the Blue (Pon- 
derosa) Marl. 


854 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


ANALYSIS OF AUSTIN LIMESTONE—UPPER DIVISION.* 


Watery ee nk cc nol Po Mesh tania tesa a mee 127. 
Site Rls le rer Se EROS OC BO ee Lin 
Westie eot ek cw oN Re 42.61 
Magnesia. (>. . 0 0 6 eo ee - oe 
Sniphuriciacid . 2)... «0.05! oe 1.13 
Adtminals:. 2 fg (Se oS to Aces 
Ferric Oxide oc. ee Se 1.72 
ROGEDONIC ACIG oo. oe Ce cs cw Ae) eee (io ae 
IOtASH co a Baar .38, 
BOG ke al ee ce a 2 36 
Phosphoric acid . 2... 5) 0S; noe ne ee ee 131 

otal:.*. 4) 2) Nas 3 ACOA tee Oe AAO sO oe 100.501 


Outside of the immediate valley of the San Gabriel river and Brushy 
creek the Austin limestone has very little exposure. Upon the high 
land between these valleys there is a heavy black residual and drift soil 
upon the limestone, except on an occasional high point where the de- 
graded lime appears at the surface. The surface is either nearly level 
or gently rolling. 


BLUE (‘‘PONDEROSA’’) MARL.T 


The Blue Marl succeeds the Austin limestone, and presents a series 
of marl beds remarkable for their thickness, consistency and structure 
of deposit. Along the valleys of the San Gabriel river and Brushy 
creek, in Williamson county, where the only detailed section has been 
made north of the Rio Grande, this marl division separates into four 
lithologic subdivisions or heads, in the following order from the base 
upward: 

1, THE CHALK MARL. —This. bed, resting upon the marly lime bed 
of the Austin limestone, is nearly one hundred feet thick, and is crowded 
with many fossils of Baculites, Ammonites, Ostrea larva, Anomia, 
Inocerami, Pecten and Ostrea. Of all these the Ostrea larva is most 
abundant, and is the type of the bed. Its first known occurrence in 
the Cretaceous is at the base of this bed. 

The marl isa dull yellowish blue in color where it has not been disinte- 
grated; but as disintegration goes on, it changes through various hues 
of yellow up to the black soil at the surface. The whole bed is strati- 
fied, but more distinctly so at the base, where it begins in thin arenaceous 
bands.- As the ascent of the bed is made, the layers become thicker 
and less arenaceous, until the top is reached in a‘massive homogeneous 
blue clay marl. The parting line between this bed and the one succeed- 
* Analysis by G. H. Wooten. 

+A portion of the Eagle Pass Division of the Rio Grande Region. Bulletin of 


the Geological Society of America. Notes on the Pee er of the Valley of the 
Middle Rio Grande, by E. T. Dumble. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. : 855 


ing itis not perceptible. The lines of stratification become less distinct, 
and the yellowish blue shades of the chalk marl blend into the deeper 
blue of the massive. 


ANALYSIS OF AN AVERAGE SPECIMEN OF CHALK MARL,.* 


a Ee Galen CER ee BN ee on ca bon Meee ae eee iss 1.10 
RT Ne AS PG NG Rs yeh cc oes idling ele. eee Mav eae 15.98 
ERwin ase, au tine ee es kw Be NEE Marae ay ve ates | 38.86 
EE ME odes oe a RR ee. oP) ov 0! se Sat ATO OP ee ees 
PCS GE Ce UM AST e.g ane Ne eee eS, 83 
Pee ee Sete ener re he ee SS Oe ia ee 6.18 
OSS ILE Se SOY SAS oh ad BG § 100 a es tea? a rR RTE RL Lek re | 2.29 
STIPE SRC MCU EME Ra 5 Wiehe dG eRe te NB ge AS Yc) gay iene sey ROME 31.74 
SMM ei, Se, or Tee ame hte ema nae ES en) 5 CS Er 15 
eT Pagel). rir ee ee OF RE a oe sa cee Eee 2.84 
SLO IB BRC Be NGS SRI cat Ln Lee aa OS SMR gs 8 108 
CERO pits ae pa ane 2a a ee ced, Ao OO REMMI ESD 85 ie 100.078 


The relative amounts of sand and clay, as determined by the percent- 
ages of silica and alumina, have increased over that of the marly lime 
below, while the percentage of lime has decreased nearly proportionately. 
The relative amounts of potash, soda and Dp ee atic acid remains prac- 
tically the same. 

Good exposures occur in bluffs one to two miles below Jonah post- 
office on the San Gabriel river. The bed isconcealed on Brushy creek 
for one mile below Shiloh School House, three miles below Hutto. It 
occurs in the banks of ravines tributary to Mustang creek, two miles 
above Taylor, and also along the International and Great Northern 
Railway on the south side of the creek valley. Outside the creek val- 
leys, a heavy black residual soil occupies the locality of this bed, ex- 
cept where covered by drift deposits. 

2. PONDEROSA MArRr,.—The second on the blue marl series may be 
designated as Ponderosa Marl because of the prevailing abundance of 
this fossil within its limits. This bed has a thickness of nearly one 
thousand feet. It is practically free from stratification, or bed planes, 
and has but little variation of lithologic character from base to top of 
the bed. On weathering, the dark blue marly clay changes from blue, 
through shades of yellow, and then to brown, as it verges into soil, 
showing in the first stages of disintegration obscure fine laminations. 
Gypsum crystals of selenite form in the marl at a certain stage of its 
decomposition, upon fresh exposures in the face of the bluffs and in 
banks of the streams. 

The lower half of this bed does not abound so abundantly in fossils 
as does the upper portion, a ugh there are present numbers of Jnoce- 
rami, Heoqgyra ponderosa, Ostrea larva, and small Ostrea sp. ind. 


*Analysis by Mr. G. H. Wooten, of the Survey. 


356 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


ANALYSIS* OF MARL FROM THE LOWER PORTION OF THE BED.+ 


WVIATOT NCL. ds we oe sw wlth Ri ag RRC ae eg 4.36 
Sia ee rr re er 2k EATS NOR UE ae 45.02 
NAG Go kh. 5. 0 0, Ee Re ae Nn ee se ec 14,26 
PRVIAQTICSIA 0 8) el Ce a Cae 
Smarmiume acid... °°). i.) gee ar Oe des TO de ay oa a a OG 
PAMATTHIITIA Ck els, tes. hie ene en bo O02 (LO ee 
Mericeoxide “, ... 2 i...) Zee eee oe ald pede 2 
Carbortic acid 62. 5 24)... Seg . OR See 
POT te! i A «0s ae SPR a Mere shes 5 on tech eae Mee ese .975 
A ae czas Sates he uh Ne CL net, MRSC LS OG ls Ey ee 
muosphori¢ acid... (5: .° ) 2 Sel ie: eae aa ee ee as 6 Ae Se 113 
/iYojs:) Meare yee oa AR aE Se Mh «a Ores 


From the above analysis it will be seen that the relative amounts of 
sand and clay, as determined by the percentages of silica and alumina, 
still increase as we ascend into the marl, while the lime decreases. The 
amounts of potash and iron also increase. 

Near the center of the bed there are broken bands or irregular collec- 
tions of yellow calcareous clay nodules, often filled with a network of 
calcite veins. Some of the nodules are large turtle-shaped masses, while 
others have the form of potatoes with protuberances on their sides. 

Ammonites, Baculites, Scaphites and Helioceras occur, included in 
some of the nodular masses of argillaceous lime. The clay itself in 
this portion of the bed is not so rich in fossils as it is in either the lower 
or upper portion, yet there are present casts of /nocerami, shells of 
Ostrea sp. ind., and Ammonites. 

This portion of the bed occurs on Brushy creek at Rice’s crossing. 

Below is an analysis of marl from the face of the high bluff at Rice’s 


crossing: 
ANALYSIS OF MARI, FROM CENTRAL, PART OF PONDEROSA BED.* 

Watet cs 2. Pasir se ei a . 8.68 
SICA gfe lk seen piece. ote Sy eens LG po ay SMe eta eA OO A ae 
Tame: 227 i tie veo keer ketene Met ant 1 Sp 9h bs ern ied ite (1 
Magnesia, i) A220 itis 2 ape tee 68S. odes 5 tak ae Trace. 
Sulphuric acid: 7 'i5 teh i) sy ae ee eed cals oe 2.21 
Alymina 06 ole pe Sa ae ae? ie 16.10 
Herric Oxide iio on 2 to Jin Se 4.87 
Carbonie:.acid S28 iy 25 eo? 8 ee . eS eae 
Potash <0 S Seapets. 9 a ah ben cap ae Wr bY 
Sodas oh sy SNORT st hee ee ee se Si i CS 
Phosphoric a TORU MN gee es}. 5 ae ee 2 eh tes Se 

Ota Wl LOS Bont ao aan Nas To aise ree ny eel fs Sa 2s eA eee 99.989 


*Analysis by Mr. G. H. Wooten. 
+Specimen of marl selected from fresh exposure in pane of creek one-half mile 
southeast of Taylor. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. — 307 


Great numbers of Hxogyra pondergfe and Ostrea larva appear in this 
bed on Brushy creek, at Baker’s crossing, nearly two hundred feet 
above the nodular zone at Rice’s crossing, and continue in the marl for 
a distance of one mile along the creek. 

The Lxogyra ponderosa here attains its maximum size and abund- 
ance. The fossils are so numerous as to be drifted into shoals in the 
creek. Numbers of a small, fragile, narrow-beaked oyster occur here; 
also Anomia and a small Gryphea(?). 

There is slight apparent change in the character of the marl on as- 
cending to this point. It is of a more earthy blue, and appears to 
contain less clay and more organic matter. 


ANALYSIS* OF MARL.f 


NRE an SS is Us Manes emer ee ee Se gh a ee 3177 
i I eg Sem PAT ts fap as PRE Ca aE 28 .34 
DMSO Fea eS re, PRP Pe Oo lo oe Rack YS AN 5 ere. oki w et 29.76 
(ST SE Paes ge BRASS A ed PTC) SSR AAT MCS Ro OLA a a ion rok 
SUSE CIN hg ARID 2 0ES EAS TS iS 07 SN Rea 1.04 
SR aT Re tg We era ne ete ae eee he ee ee a 7.50 
SET eR IOP te See eor 27 me ee ed ke ee rere we eA le Pe Mt 3.92 
Serre Cire tere reece ee Rg a ee) ig Pir ae RC WE 22.80 
eet rene eaten ila irt oo) Lae ee ath oe OY -29 
a RIN eek PRE id OE, RN OR ae eee iy ha Jee arc 2.04 
OT ICHOC KAI ie Terrien Chass Loe AON te ee i GS 118 
OE gk RR a ale BIR UENS  0t  § otie AC LANE SII I lt a 99.578 


Though the siliceous material in the form of sand runs as high as 
forty-eight per cent in this bed, yet it is not perceptible to the eye. A 
hand specimen has a harsh touch on fresh fractured surface, by which 
the presence of sand in microscopic grains can be detected. The pres- 
ence of sand cannot be detected by the senses in the rich black resicual 
soil upon the marl, except when crushed between the teeth. 

Upon approaching the upper limit of this bed, stratification planes 
between thick layers become perceptible. 

Exposures of this bed occur in the banks and bluffs of Brushy 
creek from one mile below Shiloh School House to the Missouri, Kan- 
sas and Texas Railroad. One and two miles below Rices’ crossing, 
and at the crossing, there are bluffs of marl exposed, forty to fifty feet 
thick. Below Rice’s crossing exposures are confined to the immediate 
creek banks. 

The bed occurs in the banks of San Gabriel river from three miles 
east of Jonah postoffice to the Williamson county line. From Taylor 
southeast it crops out in the banks of Mustang creek to a point one 
mile above its mouth. 

* Analysis by G. H. Wooten. 


+ From upper edge of Ponderosa zone one mile above Missouri, Kansas and 
Texas Railway, on Brushy creek. 


GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF TEXAS. 


§ F a Texana Bed. 
3 BosgueLiviscon. e Comanche Peah Chalk. 


(| 4 CaprinaLimestone. 
$ 


Frecdrickshurgh Liviston, ey 
- uslirt Marne . 
u Kiamilia Clay. 


| Trinity Sand. s 
r} Washita Division. 


| b. GlewRose(A Cternati ng) Beds, 
c. PoluxySanads.. : 


Net 
TWIN SISTER PEAK. 


Creek, 


S : 
& S 8 ‘ K 8 ° 
Q 5 oe < S a6 > 
S Sec coe i Face Daa toon eae en eee errr Pr 
; Que eee gegen reek OR i? sues ox Es . 2 = 
% < <x Sy O wis 
Ae ete Sok te) ra 8 
Se ---H ote eee zis & <\2 = A 
& TA ie ae a eee Ip ile ene sane ee py z 015 


ees 
=r Pier oe - 
, Se : - FILE SS ae = z= = = =. SS SSS = 
J Fort Worth Limestone. eeooee ot og ode rie Seto er SLAP Epa DW ee Sg Oe ey ae 
k Arcvettna Clay. 2 Reset merc tos 


€ Vola Limestone. 


aakugle Ford Shale. 


Db Qiesti Limestone. 
ec Blue (Ponderosa) Marl. 
Carboniferous. 


t Tertiary. 


a 


= PILOT KNOB 
N° 2 


‘ N? 5. 
RTH ROCKY C¥ROCKY CREEK. 


PLATE XIV. 


} 
‘09 SIAVEL 


OD NOSWYITNTIA 


99049 Ay snag 


ae 


OLD $292 


THIRD ANNUAL REPORT, 1891. 


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THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 359 


ANALYSIS OF (GREENSAND) MARL* FROM THE CENTRAL PORTION. 


MES eons «SAAN Sa aa VA! MRR RMR ca Nek 5.35 
a aRCPMEN Eo Br Suiall oiat Ne 9 es AR pose oe’ BAe OFT ER Sn 60.82 
i Ae ie PRT ee St 4) aE ie 3.66 
Magnesia . . PE Se GIS VI Ogiaae SD MEUR CAS OR sc BYR on ere, Uc Wit Ae aA a 
ERD eT a, oak Poe! Oh Se GER Rated ot i. 16 OB 
ERS SOS A OEE eS Ae en Ee 5.25 
Sn Te OPC erie tte ye og Ss ter ices Wah ee A eke es 2.85 
es RE CE Bee tiated a8 Se Se Te wes es 1.75 
OR Lah Se ee Filey ee eee al 2.94 
MEINE OTE ME Ur i oe EL ct Tul.) ands Dane Peeke Teh emer 1.06 
Cee EE Duet rer 8 bl NO ce Ree 187 

EE IIE ra Biers oo rs rats A sa, 5 gg ak ee dan he genes 99.917 


Strata of the glauconitic bed crop out at intervals along Brushy creek, 
from Lawrence crossing below the Missouri, Kansas and ‘Texas Railway 
to the International and Great Northern Railway crossing east of Thorn- 

dale. Beneath the International and Great Northern Railway bridge 
over Brushy creek there is a beautiful exposure of greensand marl in a 
bluff. Casts of Baculites, gasteropods and bivalves occur here, mingled - 
with pebbles of lime, flint and silicified wood. 


COLUMNAR SECTIONS. 


These sections are drawn upon Plate XIV beneath their respective 
points of location on the Lampasas-Williamson section. ‘The details for 
the columnar sections were obtained upon the ground by the writer and 
Mr. S. Leverett. 

The bands or layers of rock designated by the numbers 1, 2, 8, etc., 
respectively, from the base of the section upward, are so separated for 
convenience of description. 


SECTION 1. TWIN SISTERS PEAK. 


Section 1 includes Cretaceous rocks from the base of the Caprina bed 
to the Carboniferous in Twin Sisters Peak, and are given in descending 
order. 


5. Comanche Peak chalky limestone, from the cap of the peak to the top 
of the Texana bed. The rock is soft, white, heavily bedded, and 
almost pure limestone, except the cap rock, about eight feet thick, 
Maiciis'an iudurated chalky limestone. 6,5) 54.06 we 50 feet. 


Numerous fossils of Yoaxaster texranus, Diadema and gasteropods 
occur at the base of the bed. 


4. Texana bed, upper to lower limits of the occurrence of the fossil Ax- 
ogyratexana. Theupper twenty-five to thirty feetis a chalky lime- 
stone very much like that of the Comanche Peak. Below this, 
chalky white to yellow limestone alternate with a marly lime. 
Exogyra texana and Gryphea pitchert shells are very numerous 
and well preserved near the middle of the bed, but become smaller 


* Analysis by G. H. Wooten. 


360 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


and less numerous below and above. Ammonites acuto-carinatus, 

Cyprimeria crassa, Arca, Toxaster texanus, Diadema texanum and 

gasteropods occur in the upper chalky limestone. . ... ; SOU FOeEs 
3. Glen Rose (Alternating) beds. Limestone, lime marl, and catenreoe’ 

sand alternating in layers from two to three feet to as many inches. 

Toward the base the rocks become more arenaceous until the sandy 

marl blends with the sand. (m) Twenty feet above the base there are 

many large inclusions of calcite crystals in the marly lime. Fos- 

sils of a small variety of Axogyra texana occur about fifteen feet 

above the base of the bed. Cardium mediale, many other bivalves, 

and gasteropods occur also in the lower portion. .... 
2. Trinity bed, resting upon Carboniferous sandstone. Theupper ewenty 

feet is a stratified calcareous sandstone. Below this there are about 

thirty feet of loosely packed materials composed of typical “pack- 

sand,”’ grit and calcareous sand, stratified and in part false-bedded. 

The basal twenty feet is a conglomerate of limestone, quartz and 

flint, cemented in an argillaceous, calcareous sandy matrix, purple, 

yellow, brown and redincolor. Many of the cobblestones com- 

posing the conglomerates are but slightly worn . . . (0 feets 
1. Carboniferous sandstones in thin beds. - This sandstone is Sowa and 

false-stratified, dipping two to three degrees northwest ......... 


SECTION 2. MESQUITE CREEK. 


The rocks illustrated by this section belong to the Glen Rose series, 
are exposed in the bluffs of Mesquite creek from one-fourth to two miles 
below the Lampasas-Georgetown road. ‘The strata are given in des- 
cending order from 7 to 1: 


7. .Hard'semi-crystalline limestone yea con.) vane Coe Se SBT eeae 
6. Marly clay and arenaceous limestone, weathering light etow Car- 

dium mediale occurs here very nearthe base ..... oo ss i er 
>. (Arenaceousslimestone ia ao . 20 Seer 
4. Arenaceous limestone and Mtcareats baHethne: eeonine: more Bile. 

toward the top,capped with a hard limestone layer. . ..... . 30 feet. 
3. Soft blue calcareous laminated sandstone, weathering into atest ») hai eete 


2. Brown to yellow calcareous sandstone, varying from hard to loosely 
packed, resembling that in the upper Trinity in Twin Sisters Peaks. 20 feet. 
1, \ Hard semi-crystalline limestone ... U9 Fon St. 2. 


SECTION NO. 3. 
Bachelor Peak, in descending order, beginning in Comanche Peak 
limestone at the top of the peak, and ending in the Glen Rose bed seen 
at the base of Mesquite creek on the north side: . 
11. Comanche Peak chalky limestone, from the summit of the Peak to 


the upper Hmit of the: Texanavbeds-vn a): 4.9. dno) Aes . . 60 feet. 
10. Texana bed. This is exactly similar to No. 4 in Twit Sisters Peak, 
which isthe same bédin) 0 feet ee 2 yOke se Seem 


9. Soft yellow laminated sands. This is the pereeaihive f: the Paluxy 
sands, which appear fully developed north of the Leon river. It 
is not persistent here, but varies from one locality to another in 
thickness, in amounts of lime and in stratification. . .... . . 80 feet. 
8. Calcareous sandstones: F200 nd suena ate ge elie kes 15 feet. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 361 


An renaceods Jmestone® Wi ke 8 oe haat eis. LD. feet. 
6. Hard limestone in the upper ace limestone Mverbedded with limy 

Mari Below yi N* Sea ea) a et AA lane mee ee, ew as 00» feet; 
5. Arenaceous lime, ee: pr Sate pel fowe calcareous Soni rock, al- 

Lertrari nein DEUS :. of teeth yo a a ee PPE ee Pe we) eet; 
4, Blue marly limestone, which weathers to a yellow color on long ex- 

POET rhe fog tenure oF Wi Ae Pe ae lee SoS Sek gd a gels ese eUy Teet, 
Ses TITLE SEO MEH Pht Mitics eye ees aN sy ee) oe thea eemerimene. eco. O' feet, 
2. Soft yellow to gray Seated Saad rocky. eee Oeste ayn x LO -téet. 


1. Soft gray to white limestone, very arenaceous and ceed stratified. 
It is interbedded with a very calcareous soft blue to gray marl. 
Cardium mediale, Arca and numerous other bivalves, Gonzolina (?) 
and Natica pedernales abound in greatnumbers. ..... eas Lovfeet. 


_A bed of blue arenaceous limestone was partly exposed below No. 1 
in the bed of the creek. In this limestone there were many specimens 
of Caprotina and Monopleura., 


SECTION NO. 4. NORTH ROCKY CREEK. 


The rocks of this section occur exposed along the valley sides and 
bluffs of the creek on the line of the Lampasas section. Descending 
order of occurrence from eight to one: 


8. Marly and flaggy limestone, alternating. The hard limestone lay- 


er-conrainsurarymentaom oyster, shells 7. an ages i... 8 o 20 feet. 
722)Lime marl, weathering light yellow on exposure. .... . ... +. 20 feet. 
6. Sandstone strata, soft yellow and laminated. ........ . . 20 feet. 
eee etace is: eStores ee PP ok ly tea. 3, SRoOoeet 
4, Hard massive limestone . eee. RCN Ty 3 ea 10 feet. 
PmriCatcons sandy strated: iio 6 SON ees LO feet: 
2. Arenaceous limestone, in massive Beau BER  LOsteet. 
1. This member with No. 2 is exposed in the bluffs af North Rocks 

creek below the Lampasas-Georgetown road, and is divided into 

several sub-members, as follows: 
d. Mafly limestone... . bak” LS a? a teehee 1 CON ean tenes ET ebre 
c. Massive arenaceous Geeeiahe b's Dylan's Means Mera ei seeeeti smi sila cae Wate g Muna TR ene 
Pee lie lime nar oly) oy... Rit ios sor seek: 
a. Hard limestone, with marly fevers niatihedinte ‘This et abounds 


in Cardium mediale, Natica pedernales, Serpula, Goniolina (?) 
nae bgt, we ee ahs S| 2] | See 


In the upper layer of No. 1 there are numerous large inclusions and 
nodules of celestite crystals. Specimens are beautiful and easily ob- 
tained. 

SECTION NO. 5. SOUTH ROCKY CREEK. 


Numbers of high bluffs occur on South Rocky creek above and be- 
low the crossing of the Lampasas-Georgetown road. The following is 
a section of a high bluff in descending order, three- miles below the 
road crossing: 


362 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


5. Moderately soft limestone and thin Bae lime bands, in alternating 


BW ELS ee. t RP ee FN See 
4. Limestone, Prontheriny in Ba A masses from the disinitommaunn ae 

the rock of fucoidal root-liké casts] (9h so. 2. 4. MES fi 
3. Alternating, thick beds of soft limestone and thin bands of canes lime. 15 feet. 
2. Marly lime, with occasional Avca, Cardium, etc... .... ~. . . fofeet: 
1. Semi-marly limestone, weathering into marl and conchoidal shell 

fraginents...... . . 3) Gl ee ‘See a 3 Pee Tes ifs: - 25. feet. 


The upper portion of No. 1 contains numerous Cardium mediale, | 
Natica pedernales, Arca, Trigonia, Goniolina (?), and Serpula fossils. 
Nodules and large crystals of celestite occur in numbers 1, 2 and 3 


SECTION NO. 6—PILOT KNOB. 


From the top of Pilot Knob to the bed of San Gabriel river below 
Gabriel Mills: 


4. Caprina limestone. A remnant of the basal flint horizon remains, 

forming the cap rock of the peak. Many fragments of flint occur 

upon the surface and in the indurated limestone. .. . ¥' 20 Tet 
3. Comanche Peak limestone. Debris from the Caprina beds Aye Fat 

the surface weathering conceals surface exposures upon the slopes 

of the peak’. 3) -o VR ae . 110 feet. 
2. Texana bed, which is erase in he slopes at breaks of the 

San Gabriel river valley, between Pilot Knob and Gabriel Mills. 

There is but little if any variation in the bed at this locality and 

in that described under No. 10 of Bachelor Peak section. .... 100 feet. 
1. Glen Rose (Alternating) bed. These rocks occur along the bluffs at 

the border of the river valley, and in bluffs of creek basins. The 

upper portion here is poorly exposed. Thickness of alternating 

beds from the base of the Texana bed to the bed of the river. . 60 feet. 


Bluffs thirty to fifty feet high occur on the river three-fourths of a 
mile above Gabriel Mills. At the base of the bluff there are calcareous 
sand and marly lime strata, containing Mxogyra texana (small var.). 
One mile below the same horizon occurs in the bank of the river, and 
immediately below it there are many Cardium mediale, Trigonia cren- 
ulata, Diadema texanum(?), Arcu, and Natica pedernales. 

SECTION NO. 7—BAKER’S SCHOOL, HOUSE. 

The location of this section is on the San Gabriel river twelve miles 
above Georgetown. High bluffs of Caprina, Comanche Peak and Tex- 
ana limestone form a wall along the sides of the narrow valley opposite 
Baker’s School House. | 
3. Caprina limestone, containing Caprina crassifibra and Caprotina 

fossile with flints sce es earn Sane » allo) 2emieers 
2. Comanche Peak chalky limestone. The upper eS to thirty 

feet of limestone is in beds three to eight feet thick. The middle 

portion is-Soft,, white and. chalky ss .09.02-. 1. ae 1 he 3 Rte Ae 


1. Texana bed, vee exposed seventy feet above the bed of the 
creek fi eae aad 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 363 


SECTION NO. 7 “A.” 
(Omitted from plate.) 


Section of the Caprina bed as it occurs at Georgetown and along 
Brushy creek above Round Rock: 
10. Soft yellowish limestone, which contains Evogvra texana and other 
undetermined lamellibranchs. .°. . . cc feet: 
9. Limestone, hard and rather massive, peice beats ‘Caprofens fossils. 7 
8. Massive yellow to white. almost pure chalky limestone, with Bande 


Broeise routes. or black Hints. 0 4° 77,20, OR eet *. Lon feet, 
wpe eiippurites flabellitfera bed 2... 20 rebrand 4 A feet. 
6. Limestone, dull blue in color, which oe et ae many ete crassi- 

ere aA OP TOLIM ge tOSSiIS (ire TB.) xe ol Ate ene ee eo. Leeks 
5. Chalky limestone, in massive thick eeaea Lah je hy Se hh een eae et. 


In some localities there is a band of black to gray flint HERG be- 
tween members five and six. 


4. Limestone strata, containing brown flints. Very many fossils of 

Caprotina occur in the limestone and imbedded in the flint nodules 

near the upper edge of this member.. ... . tf ae Cee 
3. Flaggy limestone, heavy layers, some of seri bat are Pants siliceous. 

Near the upper and lower cd there are many large white to light 

agatic flints. ... Te ee ae Oeste 
2. Siliceous hard fanctioae: in erate oni tives ‘6 five eet thick. On 

fresh fracture this rock has the appearance of a hard crystalline 

limestone, but when weathered fine clear grains of quartz sand ap- 

pear on the surface. In this member there are thin bands of fos- 

siliferous indurated flinty limestone resembling quartzite. . . . . 35 feet. 
1. Massive chalky limestone, which contains many Caprotina fossils 

and many Caprina crassifibra. Upon weathering, the Caprina 

fossils disintegrate rapidly leaving the limestone a porous honey- 

eC key Mee ng eT) 3s Ne angen aaa s 2 aw ete Se ee LECE, 


SECTION NO. 8. SAN GABRIEL, RIVER. 
The rocks of this section are exposed in bluffs of San Gabriel river 
from Georgetown east to Town’s mill. 


Pete inrcstynest oer, eA fos Re ee eee 10 feet: 
Oe Arietina clay;.eh'.>. <0. * ia. ~cteet 
1. Fort Worth limestone, all x; Me hiet is sexputen eaeentt a arnati portion 

at the base, which is nearly concealed by the disturbance of the 

Pr OU emnta ORM Mie are... s\n RNR eos... es gar ts COO fEOk, 


POST-CRETACEOUS DEPOSITS. 


DRIFT OF THE HIGH LAND. 


There is a deposit of gravel, sand and cobblestone, spreading mantle- 
like over the edges of the eroded strata of the Upper Cretaceous in 
Williamson county. Deposits | similar in character of materials and 


*In the bluffs of Barton creek some of the layers of this member contain Heads 
tiful calcified fossils of Caprotina, bivalves and corals, which weather from the 
face of the rock in the most unique manner. 


864 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


identical structure* occur in an almost continuous belt from the Rio 
Grande to the Trinity river. In the region of the locality first cited it 
has been studied critically only between San Gabriel river and Brushy 
creek. ‘This region belongs to the hydrographic basin of the Brazos 
river. In the region of the Rio Grande and Nueces river the drift was 
observed upon ‘Tertiary strata. Tertiary rocks beyond the immediate 
Cretaceous-Tertiary border were not studied in Williamson county. 

The topography of the drift area isa high land, gently sloping east- 
ward and toward the north and south into the valleys of the San Gabriel 
river and Brushy creek. Should the covering of drift be removed, the 
topography would be but little changed. The only change would be 
to sharpen the features, for upon the western and highest portion of the 
drift the heavier deposit is upon the flank of the high land and near 
the river and creek basins. 

Upon the higher divide south of Georgetown there is a thin covering 
of gravel and cobblestones on the surface and in the soil to the depth 
of a foot and less. The drift continues as-a thin layer along the crest 
of the dividing ledge southeast between the San Gabriel river and Brushy 
creek, beyond the Missouri Pacific Railway, where it increases in 
thickness, becoming quite a thick bed. 

At Taylor the drift is several feet thick on the high points. East- 
ward from Taylor, between Turkey and Brushy creeks, this deposit be- 
comes thicker, until at a point ten miles east of Taylor it is twenty feet 
thick. 

The valleys of San Gabriel river, Brushy creek and its tributaries, 
Battleground, Mustang, and Turkey creeks, have been eroded through 
the drift and down into Cretaceous rock, leaving it flanking their 
sides. (See figure 10.) A residual flint cobblestone remains in places 
along the valleys of the streams where it has fallen, as the softer marls 
and limestones eroded beneath them. 

Wherever the exposures of this drift could be found, whether in 
railway cuts, in bluffs, or in well sections, the action of rapid and 
shifting currents was depicted in the structure of the beds. Heavy 
cobblestones of calcareous flint and limestone, six inches and more in 
diameter, are thrown in with sand, grit and pebbles of worn Cretaceous 
fossils and lime. ‘Then there are lenticular bands and lenses of till-like | 
silty lime, which look like they had been exposed once to partial 
degradation after deposition. 


CHARACTER OF THE MATERIAL COMPOSING THE DRIFT. 


The drift occurring between the Balcones fault (which extends through 
Georgetown and Round Rock) and the Missouri, Kansas and Texas 
Railway is composed solely of debris from Lower Cretaceous rocks. 


* Observed and studied by the writer in the valley of every river from Laredo, 
in Webb county, to Terrell, in Kaufman county. 


THE LAMPASAS-WILLIAMSON SECTION. 365 


It is a heterogeneous, rarely indurated mass of subangular cobblestones 
and pebbles of Cretaceous flint, limestone, and fossils. Occasionally 
beds are found projecting from the hillsides above the river valley. In 
such cases the conglomerate is found to contain a slightly ferruginous 
lime cement. Below an elevation of about six hundred feet above tide 
level, by the United States topographic sheets, an element of foreign 
drift, such as white and gray quartz, black and red jasper, in well-worn 
pebbles, and fragments of silicified wood enter into the deposits. Still, 
pebbles of Cretaceous flint, lime and rolled fossils form the body of the 
drift. As a whole, however, the material is finer, and the sorting of 
silt, sand and pebbles-into beds is more distinct. 

Wells dug in this drift to depths of twenty or thirty feet show an in- 
crease in size of pebbles downward. Also, in sections of wells exam- 
ined between Taylor and Thorndale and between Turkey creek and San 
Gabriel-river valleys, in Williamson county, show a decrease in amount 
of foreign drift downward from the surface to the base on the blue marl, 
though this foreign element is present throughout the deposit here. 

Upon disintegration, the drift forms light yellow to white marly 
rock, and in the later stages of decomposition white chalk-like calca- 
reous concretions. Furthermore, the drift at this stage has a mottled 
white and buff surface coloring. In all essential particulars there is 
little difference between this mixed foreign and Cretaceous drift and 
that adjacent to the valleys of the Medina, Frio, Leona and Nueces 
rivers, along the Cretaceous and Tertiary borders. 

From the data obtained in the study of this drift, it seems evident 
that (1) the Cretaceous element was transported from the west down 
the valleys of the San Gabriel river and Brushy creeks, since that 
time the established drainage of these valleys; (2) that, at the time 
these deposits were formed, the volume of flow of water was much 
greater than at present; (3) that at a certain period during the deposi- 
tion there were transverse currents, or else from valley to valley a com- 
mingling of the floods of the rivers, thus introducing the foreign ele- 
ment, which also occurs in the valleys of the Colorado and Brazos rivers; 
(4) that it is contemporaneous, in part at least, with the Reynosa beds,* 
since it has a stratigraphic resemblance to those beds, and almost a 
direct continuation; (5) and that we know itis of post-Miocene- Tertiary 
age, on account of its unconformability upon eroded strata of the 
Miocene-Tertiary. 


SECOND BOTTOMS. ) 
There is a more recent deposit, forming a plane and terrace between 


the immediate flood basins of the river and creek valleys and the | 
primary terrace formed by the high land drift at their outer limit. 


* Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, Vol. 3, pp. 229 and 230. Notes 
on the Geology of the Middle Rio Grande, by E. T. Dumble. 


366 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


This deposit forms the second river or creek bottom of a rich brown to 
black sandy loam soil, underlain by silty deposits, which in turn rest 
upon gravel and pebble beds. 

Marls of the upper Cretaceous are vesrevell exposed in the primary 
terrace at the outer limit of the second bottoms. 


RL CLeS 


Figure 10. 
Section showing relations of Blue Marl drift and river silt and gravel of first 
and second bottoms. 


a. Blue (Ponderosa) marl. b. Drift of the high land. c. Second bottom gravel 
and silt. d. First bottom. — 

Second bottoms are not well developed on the south side of the San 
Gabriel river above a point four miles west of the Williamson and 
Milam county line. At this point the second bottom begins and soon 
widens out to a mile or a mile and a half, forming a plain of very fer- 
tile lands. About the same relative point on Brushy creek the second 
bottom begins, and parallel to the creek runs to its junction with the 
San Gabriel river. 

The pebble beds at the base of the second bottom deposits are similar 
to those of the second phase of the high land drift, and are composed 
of pebbles of Cretaceous flint, limestone and fossils, with a sprinkling 
of foreign drift worked over from the high land. 

The first bottom is now in process of erosion or formation by the 
rivers and creeks. In this region, where the rocks are limestones and 
marls, the soil of the first bottom or flood basin is a black sticky humus 
laden with silt, except upon the immediate border of the stream, which 
is a little elevated and sandy. The soils of both the first and second 
bottoms are exceedingly fertile. | | 


ECONOMIC GEOLOGY. 
ARTESIAN WATER. 


The conditions which govern the flow of artesian water are understood 
in a general way by a great many, but the source of supply for any given 
locality is known to very few. An erroneous idea prevails that artesian 
water can surely be obtained anywhere, provided a well be bored toa 
sufficiently great depth. It is thought also by some that if their neigh- 
bors can procure artesian water they can do likewise with equal facility, 
which may or may not be possible. The lack of proper knowledge of 


ARTESIAN WATER. 367 


flowing wells in general and the amount of flow, and the depth to which 
wells must be bored to obtain water in special localities, causes much 
loss of both time and money in useless expenditure while prospecting. 


Lack of knowledge also prevents the boring of artesian wells where an 


abundant supply is within easy reach. 

In the region of the artesian water area north of the Colorado river, 
it is possible to estimate approximate depths for flowing wells, and 
closer estimates may be made upon the Grand Prairie between the 
upper and lower Cross Timbers north of the Brazos river, and in the area 
of the same belt of hard limestone between the Colorado and Brazos 
rivers; but estimates are less reliable upon the ‘“‘black land’’ prairie 
between a line drawn through Sherman, Dallas, Waco and Austin, and 
the timber belt of the Tertiary. 

The area wherein flowing wells can be obtained north of the Colorado 
river is estimated to be not less than twenty-one thousand square miles, 
or thirteen million four hundred and forty thousand acres. Within this 
area artesian wells can be obtained at depths of from less than one hun- 
dred to four thousand feet. 

In order that there may be flowing wells three conditions are neces- 
sary, viz: 1. There must be a porous stratum, such as a pervious sand 
or conglomerate. 2. Above this porous water-bearing stratum there 
must be an impervious bed of rock, through which water cannot readily 
pass. 93. ‘The source of the water supply or the outcrop of the water- 
bearing stratum must be higher than the top of the well. 


SOURCES OF ARTESIAN WATER SUPPLY. 


The water-bearing sand beds which supply the flowing wells in this 
artesian area are the Trinity, Paluxy and Red River beds. 

The impervious strata above the Trinity and Paluxy beds are the 
Glen Rose and Texana limestone beds respectively. The Eagle Ford 
shale overlies the Red River bed, which is occupied by the lower Cross 
Timbers, and forms an impervious stratum. 

The Red River sand does not occur south of the Brazos river, hence 
it does not enter into the discussion of artesian water in Lampasas, 
Burnet and Williamson counties. The Paluxy sand is not well developed 
south of the Leon river, and it is impregnated with clay, soluble salts 
of magnesia, strontia and other mineral matter, which unfits it fora 
successful water-bearing stratum. The Trinity sand remains alone as 
the source of supply for flowing wells in this region, and its extent 
here is not such as would afford either an abundant supply or a first- 
class quality of water, were it not a direct continuation of beds more 
favorably situated. In the first place its areal outcrop, or catchment 
area, is small, rarely more than a half mile in width, and often less. In 
the second place it has a variable structure, being composed of con- 
glomerate with ferruginous and calcareous matrix, often partially in- 


368 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


durated, ferrugino-calcareous sands, and indurated arenaceous lime- 
stone, which contains in places considerable quantities of iron sulphide. 

In the southern portion of Lampasas county the Trinity bed is quite 
thin, and in places almost entirely absent, which gives little or no 
source to water for flowing wellsin that region. Here also the con- 
glomerate is so indurated that it will admit very little passage for 


water. 
LOCALITIES FOR FLOWING WELLS. 

From the great artesian area, wherein it is possible to obtain a flow- 
ing well at any point, arms of limited extent run westward up the 
river and creek valleys toward the catchment area, or exposure of 
water-bearing stratum. 

West of a line drawn through Round Rock, Georgetown, Corn Hill, 
and Salado, to the Lampasas river north of Salado, it is not possible 
to obtain a flowing well except in the immediate valleys of the princi- 
pal streams, and in these valleys it is possible only to a limited extent. | 

Along the immediate valley of the Lampasas river, from near the 
Hamilton county line southeastward, the conditions are suited for flow- 
ing wells of a few thousand gallons daily supply. Flowing water from 
wells may be obtained in the valleys of Simms and School creeks for 
nearly ten miles above their mouths. ‘There is no possibility of ob- 
taining artesian water beyond two or three miles above the mouth of 
Sulphur creek, and there only in small flows. 

Small flows from bored wells may be gotten in the valleys of Mes- 
quite and Rocky creeks for nearly six miles from Lampasas river. 

For any of the locations above given it will rarely be necessary to 
excavate more than two hundred feet to obtain a flow, and often less 
than two hundred feet will suffice. The flow of water from wells here 
will not be great, but will be ample for culinary and farm purposes. 
It will not be sufficient, however, for irrigation unless it be very limited. 

In the valley of the North Fork of San Gabriel river, from George- 
town to the Burnet county line, flowing wells may be obtained at depths 
from nearly six hundred feet at Georgetown to less than four hundred 
feet at the county line. 

Near Georgetown the flow will most probably be quite abundant; 
but; as the valley is ascended, it will grow weaker until the water will 
only just reach the surface. és 

Flowing wells need not be expected in the valley of the South Fork 
of the San Gabriel river above the Austin and Northwestern Railway 
Beginning on Salado creek at. Florence, and on Berry’s creek south of 
Florence, the conditions are suited for flowing wells along their valleys 
to the Lampasas and San Gabriel rivers. Wells of small flow may be 
obtained in the valley of Brushy creek for nearly ten miles above 
Round Rock. In the valley of Brushy creek near Round Rock, San 
Gabriel river near Georgetown, and Berry’s and Salado creeks north of 


ARTESIAN WATER. _ 369 


Georgetown, weak flows of water may be expected from wells at from 
three hundred to one hundred feet depths. In these cases the supply 
will be small, and the quality of the water probably poor and bitter — 
from the presence of salts of magnesia, soda, strontia, etc., in solution, 
and sulphurous gases. Rarely this water may be valuable for medicinal 
purposes. The source of this supply is in the upper sandy stratum of 
the Glen Rose (Alternating) bed, which contains quantities of sulphate 
of magnesia, sulphate of strontium, and probably salts of soda. Upon 
the surface these minerals show in well defined crystals in the bluffs of 
Mount Bonnell, on the Colorado river, in Travis county, and in the 
bluffs along Rocky creek, in Burnet county. 

Immediately west of the line drawn through Round Rock, George- 
town, Corn Hill, and Salado, which is approximately upon the line of 
the Balcones fault, water may be made to flow from wells at depths of 
from six hundred to eight hundred feet, while immediately east of 
this line it will be required to bore nearly one thousand feet at Round 
Rock, about seven hundred and fifty feet at Georgetown, and less 
than the latter amount at Corn Hill and Salado. 

East of the Balcones fault line artesian water may be obtained with 
tolerable certainity, but there may be instances where a flow cannot be 
gotten on account of a thinning of the porous sand and conglomerate 
of the Trinity bed, in southern Lampasas county, resulting from a ridge- 
like elevation of Paleozoic rocks beneath Cretaceous strata. 

Southeastward from the Balcones fault line, depths to which wells 
will have to be bored to obtain flowing water increases on an average 
of nearly one hundred feet per mile linear distance. Of necessity, 
differences in surface elevation affect the depths. Less will be required 
in the valleys than upon the adjoining hills. 


ARTESIAN BASINS IN OTHER AREAS THAN LAMPASAS, BURNET, 
AND WILLIAMSON COUNTIES. 


Within the limits of the rocks of the Bosque division in Hamilton, 
Erath, Bosque, Somervell, Hood, and Parker counties, there are artesian 
basins of limited extent, wherein an abundant supply of excellent flow- 
ing water may be had at very moderate depths. In some of them, for 
instance, that in the valley of the Paluxy creek, in Hood and Somer- 
vell counties, beautiful flowing wells are had at depths of from seventy 
to two hundred feet. In the vicinity of Glen Rose the flow from these 
wells is very abundant, being amply sufficient for irrigating gardens 
and small fields. 


LEON RIVER ARTESIAN BASIN. 
The exact limits in which flowing wells may be obtained in this basin 
have not been located, but it is known that conditions are suitable along 
the valley of Leon river from the Hamilton and Comanche county line 


370 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


southeastward. Near the upper end it is probable that water may be 
obtained at depths of nearly one hundred feet. As the valley of the 
river is descended, it will require an additional depth of about fifteen 
feet for each mile’s distance down the valley to reach the source of 
water supply. In the valleys of the small streams tributary to the 
Leon river in Hamilton county conditions are suitable to a distance of 
two to six miles from the river valley. 

- ‘The basin continues down the Leon river valley through Coryell 
county, becoming wider as the valley descends, until it joins the great 
artesian area of the Cretaceous system in Central Texas. Cow House 
creek valley, below Pidcock ranch, presents conditions suited to flowings 
wells. 

BOSQUE RIVER ARTESIAN BASIN. 

The valley of the Bosque river, from Stephenville downward, Green’s 
creek valley eastward and southeast of Dublin, Duffau creek valley near 
its mouth, and East Bosque river below the Houston and Texas Central 
Railway, form an artesian well basin, or valley, that has been scarcely 
appreciated. A beautiful flowing well at Iredell, three hundred and 
seventy-five feet deep, illustrates the possibility in this basin. . The 
Bosque Section, Plate XI, shows the artesian conditions and source of 
supply for this valley. 

Below the point on the Bosque river where the Paluxy sand bed, 
which borders the side of the valley opposite Walnut, reaches the base 
of the valley, flowing wells may be obtained at shallower depths. The 
source of the water is in the Paluxy sand. ‘The flow will not be very 
strong, but if the boring is continued through the Paluxy sand and 
through the Glen Rose limestone below, an abundant supply will spring 
from the Trinity sand, from which source comes the water in the well at 
Iredell. 


BRAZOS AND PALUXY BASINS. 

Flowing wells may be drilled along the-Brazos, beginning east of 
Comanche Peak, if localities be confined to the immediate valleys of 
the river. This basin joins the Paluxy basin at the mouth of Paluxy 
creek. At any point in the valley of Paluxy creek below Bluff Dale 
on Squaw creek near its mouth, and in the valley of the Brazos river 
between a point east of Comanche Peak and the south line of Somervell 
county, it will not be necessary to drill more than three hundred feet to 
secure a flow of water, and few wells will require to be drilled more than 
two hundred feet. 

It will require a depth of nearly four hundred feet at the mouth of 
Camp creek on the Brazos river, in Johnson county, and between the 
mouth of Camp creek and the crossing of the Gulf, Colorado and Santa 
Fe Railway on the Brazos river, four to five hundred feet drilling will be 
necessary to get flowing water. Below the Gulf, Colorado and Santa 
Fe Railway, along the valley of the river, wells will flow at depths of 


9 


ARTESIAN WATER. Eyal 


from one to two hundred feet. The source of this supply is found in 

the Paluxy sand bed, which passes beneath the surface of the river 

valley near the mouth of little Camp creek in northwest Hill county. 
CLEAR FORK TRINITY RIVER ARTESIAN BASIN. 

The valleys of Clear Fork of Trinity river, east of Weatherford, and 
the South Fork, below Weatherford, form a basin or area in which 
shallow flowing wells may be bored. In this area, as far southeast as 
Benbrook station, the source of the flowing water is in the Trinity sand, 
and the depths required for wells will be from one hundred to one hun- 
dred and fifty feet. Below Benbrook, in the valley of the river, wells 
must be from one hundred feet and upward according to locality and 
distance down the valley. ‘he source of this is in the Paluxy sand bed. 
If the flow be weak, or if the water should rise to within a few feet of 
the surface, an additional depth of one hundred and fifty to two hun- 
dred feet will produce an abundant supply of flowing water from the 
Trinity sand bed. 

There is another small artesian basin in north Parker county—the 
valley of Walnut creek from Springtown to the mouth of the creek. In 
Springtown, wells drilled to depths less than one hundred feet give a 
weak flow of water. Below Springtown it will require greater depth of 
drilling, but a stronger flow of water will be secured thereby. Inves- 
tigations and estimates for flowing wells in these valleys have been made 
by the Survey, and since a living and excellent supply of fresh water 
is found that is within the reach of even the humblest farmer, it was 
considered expedient to give here somie of the facts obtained. 


ESTIMATES FOR ARTESIAN WELLS AT HONEY GROVE, PARIS, AND 
OTHER POINTS ON THE GULF, COLORADO AND SANTA FE AND 
TEXAS AND PACIFIC RAILWAYS IN LAMAR AND 
FANNIN COUNTIES. 


In order to ascertain the character of the water-bearing sand for the 
artesian area in this part of the State, as well as to make reliable esti- 
mates of the depths to which artesian wells must be bored, it was 
necessary to go into the Choctaw Nation as far north as Antlers, on 
the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, and work southward in the 
direction of the dip of the rocks to the belt on which it is proposed to 
locate the wells. The sand which is the source of the artesian water 
is found exposed along the ‘‘Frisco’’ Railway from near Antlers to a 
point one and one-third miles north of Goodland, where it disappears 
beneath a bed of massive limestone, (Goodland limestone). 

The sand is similar in general character to that of the same belt 
(Trinity and Paluxy sand) which extends along the eastern border of 
the Upper Cross Timbers in Texas. Itisa porous, closely compressed, 
but not compact, white to yellow ferruginous sand. It is false-bedded 
and laminated. Contemporaneous deposition, erosion and redeposition 


372 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


was so extensive at the time of its formation that reliable estimates 
cannot be made for the dips of the rocks. 

There were occasional local ferruginous indurations of the sands, but 
these are not of sufficient extent to affect its water-bearing capacity. 
Between the upper limit of the sand, one and one-fouth miles north of 
Goodland, and a point nearly three miles south of that place, the 
whole of the Lower Cretaceous limestone series is exposed; and it was 
from these limestones that the only reliable estimates were obtained 
for the artesian water area under consideration. 

Excellent exposures occur along the ‘‘Frisco’’ Railway across the prat- 
rie, north and south of Goodland, from which the average dip of the 
rocks was estimated. 

TWO METHODS OF ESTIMATING DIP. 

First METHOD,—The longest-possible exposures are selected par- 
allel with the dip, which is here practically south. Such exposures 
were found from one hundred and sixty feet to one-fourth mile in 
length. The highest point on a ledge is selected, and here the ob- © 
server places a level, and leveling carefully, sights to a point above the 
same ledge in the direction of the dip. The horizontal distance from 
the eye of the observer to the second point selected is measured; also 
the distance from the latter point downward to the level of the ledge 
of rock. ‘The second or vertical distance is the amount of dip of the 
rock for the distance measured. 

By this method dips were measured from the Goodland limestone at 
the base to the Quadriplicata bed at the top of the series. The aver- 
age of all the dips measured, which ranged from 3.2 feet per one hun- 
dred feet distance to less than one foot per one hundred feet, was nearly 
one foot per one hundred feet distance, or practically fifty feet per mile. 

SECOND MrErHop.—A well drilled near Goodland, nearly one and 
one-third miles south of the southern limit of the sand, passes through 
the limestone at a depth of one hundred and sixty-eight feet and 
penetrated the sand. Water rose in this well sixty-eight feet, or 


practically toa level of the’upper limit of the sand. Dip 50.8 feet per 
mile. 


Paris is nearly twenty-eight miles due south of the point where the 
upper limit of the water-bearing sand crops out in the Choctaw Nation ~ 
near Goodland, and the public square is nearly one hundred feet above 
this point of the sand. Estimating the dip of the rock from the’sand 
north of Goodland to Paris at fifty feet per mile, in the twenty-eight 
miles the rock would dip fourteen hundred feet (28x50 feet equals 1400 
feet), and adding to this the hundred feet (the elevation of Paris above 
the outcrop of the sand), the sum is fifteen hundred feet, which is the 
estimated distance of the water-bearing sand beneath the public square 
in Paris. ‘The lowest elevation of the upper limit of the water- bearing 
sand, on Red River northwest of Denison, is nearly the same elevation 


SOILS. 373 


as Paris, and the elevation of the upper limit of the same sand, due 
west of Paris, is nearly eleven hundred feet. 

After considering the above data, it seems impossible to determine 
whether water will rise to the surface at Paris when the water-bearing 
sand is penetrated. Theoretically, the water will not rise above the 
elevation of its source in the direction from which the rocks dip; but 
in this case, where the well is located in an artesian basin having two 
sides, with rocks dipping from two or more directions, and with sources 
both above and below the top of the well, it is probable that there will 


be a flow. 
ESTIMATED DEPTH OF WATER AT HONEY GROVE. 


— The base of the Austin limestone, with its two hundred and eighty- 
five feet beneath the surface at Honey Grove, occurs at the surface 
nearly four miles south of Paris. Taking the grade of the country 
south of Paris into consideration, it is estimated that there is not more 
than one hundred feet from the rock on which Paris rests, vertically 
upward, to the base of the Austin limestone. ‘The dip of the marl and 
sand in the vicinity of Paris could not be satisfactorily estimated. 


Depth in rock from Paris downward to watersand .......... 1500 feet. 
Distance from Paris upward to base of Austim limestone... ..... 100 feet. 
Base/of Austin limestone to. Honey Grove .'.) 6. 6 oe ee 285 feet. 
Depth from surface at Honey Grove to water sand, estimated. .... 1885 feet. 


Honey Grove is ninety-six feet in elevation, by railway levels, above 
Paris; hence it is less probable that water will flow at the surface from 
a well at Honey Grove than at Paris. 

By considering their distances and direction from and elevation above 
Paris, approximate estimates may be made for other localities in this 
vicinity. 

SOILS. 

The remarkable fertility of the Cretaceous soils of Texas, especially 
those of the black waxy lands of the Upper Cretaceous, has long been 
reputed. In the investigation of these soils it is the object of the Sur- 
vey to (1) outline them as governed by the geological conditions of 
the rocks from which they take their source, (2) to!note their physical 
characteristics, (8) to observe their natural and cultivated products, 
(4) and to analyze them chemically and physically in order to ascertain 
their adaptability to special crops. 

METHODS OF INVESTIGATION.—The different divisions of the Upper 
and Lower Cretaceous series are so clearly marked, stratigraphically 
and lithologically, that it is an easy matter to divide and outline the 
several phases of the soil by simple geological delineations. As the 
geological field work is carried on the partings between these divisions, 
as well as between their subdivisions, are located and mapped, after 
which the soil study and detailed geological studies may be carried on 

~ rapidly and with little hindrance. 


374 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


In this region, where unbroken virgin soils remain everywhere side 
by side with cultivated fields, the opportunities for the study of the 
physical properties of soils is unsurpassed. ‘The natural selection of 
particular kinds of soils on the part of certain species of trees and herba- 
ceous plants may be observed side by side with the behavior of the same 
soil under cultivation where fertilizers are unknown, and where the his- 
tory of each field can be gathered from the farmer. 

It is a matter of much importance to select good soil specimens. As 
stated above, the divisions of each class or phase of soils are so clearly 
marked that it is an easy matter to select specimens representing typi- 
cally areas of many hundred square miles in extent. For instance, in 
the case of the Arietina clay,or Eagle Ford shale, a series of well- 
selected specimens from one locality will represent the same soil for one 
hundred miles along the strike of the rock. ‘There is practically no 
change in the residual soils along any one of the beds of the Cretaceous 
system north of the Colorado river for more than one hundred miles. 

In selecting a specimen for analysis a typical locality upon the bed is 
chosen, upon an extended level surface, where the soil has not been 
broken. ‘The surface vegetation is removed, and the soil is selected 
with the subsoil where it is possible. 

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SOILS AND THEIR VALUES.—It goes with- 
out saying that the average farmer will derive but little benefit from a 
column of figures with unintelligible names, which, summing up one 
hundred, expresses the chemical analysis of a soil. If the physical 
characteristics of the soils are explained, such as the character of the 
rocks from which it has been derived, its color, its tendency to favor 
certain kinds of trees and herbaceous plants, and its drainageyand it is 
made clear in explanation that each plant that grows requires certain 
ingredients whose relative amounts in the soil are expressed by a per- 
centage opposite their names in the column of analysis, the value of 
systematic analytic investigations of soils becomes evident. 


SOILS OF THE TRINITY SANDS. 


Naturally, one does not expect a very fertile soil which has an origin 
in a slightly calcareous and argillaceous sandstone alone. Such is the 
character of an unaltered purely Trinity soil. It is a loose pulverulent 
sandy soil, whose base or subsoil is a porous fine sand. ‘This is rather 
the extreme case, however, for in many localities there is a sufficiency 
of clay to give body to the soil and to form an intermediate sandy clay 
soil as a transition between the soil and subsoil. This occurs often 
when there is a gentle slope, and when the soil rests blanket-like over 
the edges of various strata. In such cases the soil with its intermediate 
subsoil remains unchanged for a considerable distance, showing that its 
included clay does not have its origin in a single layer of rock. Thi8 
phenomenon seems tenable only by the following explanation: 


+ 
— 


SOILS. | . 875 


During‘a long period of time, as erosion slowly progressed in the forest- 
clothed sandy land, the compacted porous sand gradually disintegrates 
into a transition soil, and finally, after being acted upon by the ele- 
ments and vegetable growth, it becomes the residual soil. Meanwhile, 
the? particles of clay near the surface, and constitutent in the soil, are 
taken up in solution and suspension by the water that falls and passes 
down through the soils and rock and is left in the subsoil above the 
unchanged rock. By this process the surface soil is kept depleted of 
its store of clay, and in some localities where there is little clay on the 
country rocks the soil is little more than a deep loose sand, unfit for any 
use except to produce a scrubby forest-growth of oaks. The soil of the 
valley land is very fertile. Especially is this true of the river bottom 
lands. ‘The rich silt deposited from the former floods of the river, com- 
bined with a good percentage of sand and clay brought down by the 
tributaries to the rivers from the Trinity sand, forms a soil of almost 
unsurpassed fertility. The large percentages of lime which must be 
present in these valley soils has its source in the rich lime marls of the 
Alternating and the Texana oyster beds which overly the sand, and in 
which quite all the smaller streams that flow in the Trinity sands have 
their,source. The soil analyses Nos. 1 and 2 show excellent percent- 
ages of phosphoric acid, potash and lime. 

Except in the valley lands, or where the surface is quite level and 
the drainage is slow, it is not profitable to cultivate the Trinity soil. 
Without exception the Trinity sand is forest covered. Many varieties of 
oak, also hickory and other hard woods abound upon the high or rolling 
land. The valley lands bear pecan, elm, dogwood, burroak, walnut, 
ash, hackberry, sycamore, willow, cottonwood, besides a luxuriant 
large grape, and varieties of thorn. 

The wood of the Upper Cross Timbers (the eastern portion of which 
occupy the Trinity sand) is more valuable than the cultivated products 
of the rolling lands. 

As soon as the timber is removed from the rolling sandy land, and 
the surface is broken by the plow, erosion rapidly removes the loose 
sandy soil, and the land becomes unfit for occupation even by the forest. 

It may be said that at present there is no ready sale for the wood nor 
immediate use for it by the farmer who owns the land, but there are 
growing demands for the timber in the vast prairie regions east and 
west of these forest lands. 

The soil upon the Trinity sand belt in Lampasas and Burnet counties 
is of no value for tillage. The area is narrow and generally occupies 
steeply sloping hillsides, and in consequence the soil is thin and porous. 

THE GLEN ROSE (ALTERNATING) LIMESTONE SOILS. 

The Alternating limestone and soft arenaceous lime marl of this bed 
form rich dark brown soils, but the character of the topography of the 
area occupied by these rocks will admit of only very limited land sur- 


376 * CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE. COLORADO. 


face where it is possible for residual soils of any value to form. Asa 
rule the surface is abruptly rolling and partially occupied by a thin 
imperfect soil, fit only for pasture. The valleys of the streams, which 
have their source in and flow across these rocks, bear a very fertile 
dark brown soil, which have theif origin solely in these lime-marls. 

Soil- and subsoil analysis (No. 1) from the Davis farm on South 
Rocky creek, in Burnet county, shows the percentage constituents of 
an average perfect Glen Rose limestone soil. ‘The specimen was taken 
from an undisturbed level surface at the edge of the creek basin above 
overflow limits. 

The same character of soils in the valleys will produce in good sea- 
son from three-fourths of a bale to one bale of cotton, or forty to fifty 
bushels of corn, when properly cultivated. This soil is admirably 
suited to the production of peaches and grapes. Wild grapes grow 
luxuriantly in these valleys, a fact which shows conclusively that cul- 
tivated varieties of grapes will produce abundantly under skilled cul- 
ture. 

The percentage of lime, sand, clay and potash, as shown by the 
analyses, (see table of analyses) are excellent, with a fair per cent of 
phosphoric acid, which show proper proportions for a very fertile soil. 
The bases of the valleys and hillsides adjoining the principal streams 
are clothed with growths of pecan, oak, hackbery, elm and other hard 
woods indigenous to this region. Many of the pecan groves are pre- 
served and are a source of considerable profit to owners. Single trees 
and clumps of liveoaks are scattered here and there over the hills, 
giving picturesque and pleasing views to the landscape. Varieties of 
dwarf-oak are encroaching upon the hills also, since prairie fires have 
been stopped, and since close pasturing in many places has depleted 
the soil of its sod, thereby giving the acorn and herb seed a chance to 


take root. 
THE TEXANA AND COMANCHE PEAK LIMESTONE SOILS. 


Generally the residual soil derived from the Comanche Peak and 
Texana limestones is thin and imperfect, and consequently poor. The 
edges of these exposed beds in a great measure occupy escarpment 
faces and sloping hillsides, hence their lack of well formed residual 
soils. Rarely these rocks occupy the summits of divides between river 
or creek valleys, where rich black residual soils occur, which produce 
abundant crops of corn and cotton and fine pasture lands. Such a 
divide is that between the San Gabriel river and Rocky creek in Bur- 
net, and between the Russell Fork and North Fork of the San Gabriel 
river in Williamson county. At these localities the harder Caprina 
limestone with flints, which generally form table lands above the Tex- 
ana and Comanche Peak beds, have been removed, leaving the bottom 
beds with gently rolling surfaces. \ 

These soils have an abundant supply of lime and a good percentage 


SOILS. 377 


of potash and phosphoric acid, as shown in analysis No. 2 in table of 
soil analyses. Quite a good percentage of clay is seen to be in this 
soil also. 

The soil specimen of analysis No. 2 was taken from the Texana bed, 
upon high gently rolling country, two miles northwest of Gabriel 
Mills, in Burnet county. The soil is very dark brown and residual 
upon the unbroken prairie. The soil of the Comanche Peak limestone 
will contain less percentages of clay and more of lime than that of the 
Texana limestone. 

THE CAPRINA LIMESTONE SOIL. 


A belt of country formed by this rock passes north and south across 
Williamson county west of Round Rock and Georgetown, and extends 
northwest upon the divide between the principal stream valleys. It is 
covered by quite a dense forest of oaks, hickory and cedar, and by 
many fragments of indurated Caprina limestone and flint bowlder 
nodules. Upon extended level surfaces and shallow valleys there is a 
brown to reddish brown residual soil of highly productive fertility, but 
it is rarely free of limestoneand flint fragments. Soil of analysis No. 3 
was selected from a level unbroken surface of Caprina soil two miles 
northwest of Georgetown. Potash and phosphoric acid percentages are 
not high, but they seem to be rendered quite active in their productive 
power by suitable percentages of lime, clay, iron and finely diffused 
siliceous matter in the soil. 

The area of the soil is more valuable for forest land than for agri- 
cultural uses. The habit of clearing the cedar forests promiscuously 
for firewood is to be deprecated. Its value for building timber and 
fence posts is beyond that for fuel, and its value in this respect will 
continue to increase with increase of population in the adjoining prairie 
region, 

THE FORT WORTH LIMESTONE SOIL. 

The Fort Worth limestone occupies a very limited area in William- 
son county on account of the disturbances incident to the Balcones 
fault, which have almost concealed the one hundred and fifty feet of 
strata. ‘The soil upon the areal expanse of this rock is of little im- 
portance in an agricultural sense. It is quite thin and imperfect, with 
much limestone fragments on the surface. _ 

The timber belt of the Caprina bed continues upon the soil of the 
Fort Worth limestone, but the forest here is not so dense, being relieved 
here and there by patches of prairie land. 
| THE SOIL OF THE ARIETINA CLAYS. 

With rare exceptions does the soil of the Arietina clay occur upon 
level surfaces. ‘This clay is in part involved in the Balcones fault. It 
is of sufficient thickness to give an areal width of one or more miles, 
but on account of the overlying hard Vola limestone its width is rarely 


378 CRETACEOUS AREA NORTH OF THE COLORADO. 


more than one-fourth of a mile. It is rarely cultivated on account of 
its sloping surface and imperfectly formed soils. 
SOILS OF THE UPPER CRETACEOUS. 

The soils of the Eagle Ford shales, Austin limestone, and Blue marl 
in Williamson county present the same surface features. The pure soils 
are of adense black color, running high in percentages of lime and clay. 
Chemical analysis of the specimens of soils selected does not show high 
percentages of potash or phosphoric acid. The high percentages of 
lime and iron which are always present in the Eagle Ford shales and 
Blue marl most prcbably renders active the potash and phosphoric acid 
ingredients. The highly productive quality of these soils is rendered 
possible only by its physical conditions and its high water absorptive 
and retentive power. 

The country rock of the Eagle Ford shale and Blue marl contains 
fair proportions of potash and phosphoric acid ingredients, and the soil 
may be improved by deep plowing or any other process of mechanical 
mixture of the subsoil and the country rocks. ‘The shale and marl is 
friable, and ‘‘slacks’’ immediately upon surface exposure. The whole 
areal exposure of these rocks is occupied by a gently rolling prairie 
land, and almost every acre is subject to cultivation. 

DRIFT SOILS. 

All of the area of the Upper Cretaceous in Williamson county is occu- 
pied by drift soil, except narrow borders of land along the edge of the 
creek basins and a few square miles possibly upon the top of the divide 
between the San Gabriel river and Brushy creek. ‘This soil is residual, 
and has its origin in the mingled rock debris from both the Lower and 
Upper Cretaceous. In the greater portion of this area the soil originates 
solely from the drift, and there is a body of drift yet remaining un- 
changed beneath the soils often to a depth of several feet. Over the 
larger portion of this area the subsoil is Kagle Ford shale, Austin lime- 
stone or Blue marl. A thin mantle of drift, in the form of pebbles of 
flint and worn Lower Cretaceous limestone, remains upon the surface 
and lends character to the soil. 

As a rule these soils prove to be very fertile. Their surface is gently 
rolling and often inseparable by surface appearances from the purely 
marl soil. Upon extended level surfaces ‘‘hog-wallows’’ occur as upon 
the Eagle Ford shale and Blue marl. Except upon the banks of the 
creeks and bases of small valleys the whole area is an open prairie. 
The soils of the river and creek valleys, though of limited extent, are 
exceedingly fertile. They result from decomposition of Cretaceous 
rocks of the whole system, and are highly humus charged. The val- 
leys of the large streams bear rich growths of ash, oaks, pecans, elm, 
hackberry, sycamore, wild grape, and other woods indigenous to this 
region. 


SOILS. 379 


ANALYSES OF SOILS. 
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS. 


L, 2. 3. | 
4 5 \: 6 vt 
: Sub- f 
Soil eer’ | Soll. | SNP), SO aaie 
Insol. in hydr, acid . |56.94/49.02'66.08 5.0063.52 [54.52 |63.80|57.03 |67.67 |80.94 
soluble silica. . . .| 0.12). .| . .| . . + 1.05-| 0.227) 0.17|'0.20 |.1.38 | 0.204 
Perse ovine Ai, .- . 2.29) 3.06) 1.35) 3.10) 4.89 | 4.54 | 4.66) 5.21 | 3.33 | 1.92 
Alumina ot rinsed a? < 4.81) 7.89) 9.65|trace| 9.99 | 9.14 | 8.99/10.52 | 3.18 | 2.78 
PREIS, OEE ar. 3c, 14.66)18.16) 3.16|50.00) 1.83 | 9.85 | 2.08} 3.78 | 8.81 | 1.92 
Magnesia. . . . . . |trace| 1.73] 0.50\trace| 0.37 | 0.115} 0.58} 0.32 | . . | 0.81 
rere a ele ie! | 3.99} 4.31} 3.92) 4.30) 0.95 | 1.42 | 0.50) 1.06 | 0.14 | 0.20 
USC: Sa dar | 1.48] 1.48] 1.91} 0.57| 0.35 | 0.16 | 0.51! 0.65 | 0.88 | 0.23 
Phosphoric acid. . .| 0.10) 0.05) 0.09) 0.06) 0.055! 0.094 0.53) 0.033) 0.049) 0.072 
Sulphuric acid . . ./ 0.42| 0.24) 0.33) 0.49 0.12 | 0.077| 0.15) 0.13 | 0.14 | 0.11 
Carbonicacid. . . . /11.51/14.27| 2.50'36.29) 1.20 | 5.57 | 1.57| 2.73 | 4.31 | 0.81 
ye | 2.64\trace| 0.94) 0.29) 5.85 | 3.62 | 3.89) 5.64 | 3.29 | 2.26 
Mrpanivmatrers 2/2. 00\trace| 9.36itracel... . |i. | a Po beeen. 
Loss on ignition. | . . {10.60 [11.72 |12.81|12.99 | 8.86 | 7.89 


MECHANICAL ANALYSIS. 


Decne aa tae a, aot ho 6 
PRES, ty reeeon ye sh Say adi” Bie ea op a eae OF BOK. G, Dor ok oe pair ae 
moaree gravels "rut y Peete eee ht Upto cope kh 44h LO27 ik Oe 00; chane a 
CO 9 ECR Aig 9? oN sits . . .| 44.00).70.00! 28.30) 8.08) 14.90) 8.34 
wonrse SAndr. 2) be weer Re tay ai me bo eal 4. 06l1 oF kets be 
Bersand int). hy teen at). |12, 001-1000) 8.82) 27. 85h, 2366) -6,32 
PEM Sito a Se ae ol te, 4 44.00) 20.00) 43.40 53.71) 39.56) 65.98 
LOCALITIES. 


1. Davis farm on South Rocky creek, Burnet county. Soil from creek valley, 
having origin in the Glen Rose limestone. 

2. Two miles northwest of Gabriel Mills, Burnet county. Residual soil from 
limestone of Texana bed. 

3. Two miles northwest of Georgetown, Williamson county. Residual soil 
from Caprina limestone. 

4. Two miles east of Georgetown. Residual soil from Arietina clay. 

5. ‘Three miles east of Georgetown. Residual soil from Eagle Ford shale. 

6. Four miles southeast of Thorndale, Williamson county. Soil from Ponde- 


rosa marl. 
7. North of Thorndale. Soil from drift. 


S-PECOS TEXAS ; : 


[Seema 


Dds Wk BY 


_ W. H. VON STREERUWITZ. 


dey ae Nie PH COS ees: 


BY W. H. VON STREERUWITZ. 


The country west of the Pecos river, at least west of the divide run- 
ning from the Guadalupe mountains down to the Rio Grande and cross- 
ing into Mexico, is sharply distinct from the country east of the Pecos 
river, for although we find in the Central Region (Llano and surround- 
ing counties) granites, crystalline schists, Silurian and Carboniferous 
rocks, metamorphic material and perhaps Devonian strata, alike or 
similar to those of Trans-Pecos Texas, here we have to deal with 
geological problems of a different and far more complicated character. 
Some, I dare say most, of these problems can and will be understood 
fully only after the mountains of Old and New Mexico have been 
studied more in detail, because the chronology and sequence even of 
local events can be ascertained and understood only by comparing all 
' or most of the features of these localities with each other. 

As far as the eruptive material is concerned we have evidently to 
deal with the same material found in Old and New Mexico, thrown up 
probably at the same time, under the same or similar conditions, and 
partly, at least so far as the southwestern portion of New Mexico is 
concerned, penetrating the same sedimentary strata. After the Carbon- 
iferous sea had subsided the country evidently remained a plateau region 
of large extent. Numerous buttes, peaks or high hills, more or less 
connected with each other, of the same character and bearing the same 
fossils, still remain stretching from the flanks of the Sierra Diablo to 
Sanderson, forming quite extensive mountain ranges similar to the 
Sierra Diablo, flanking eruptive ranges and mountain groups such as 
the Hueco and Carrizo mountains, and forming extensions of mountain 
ranges, like the southern parts of the Guadalupe and Van Horn moun- 
tains. The northern boundary of this plateau was, if not considerably 
further north, certainly not south of New Mexico. As to the eastern 
and southern boundaries, I think the Pecos river may be assumed for 
- the former, and the western limits we have to look for in Mexico. How 
far west cannot be even approximately guessed from observations made 
up to date. In short, from the fragmentary work done in Texas, New 
and Old Mexico up to this time, it is impossible to determine sharply 
and distinctly the limits of this once extensive plateau, the existence 
of which cannot be doubted. The present remains of it terminate on 
the east side of the Sierro Diablo in high cliffs overlooking a broad 
valley or basin, the eastern shore of which was formed by equally high 
and steep cliffs, which form the southern extension of the Guadalupe 


mountains, sloping down towards the Pecos river. 
\ 


384 TRANS-PECOS TEXAS. 


Similarly abrupt cliffs flank the Hueco and Wiley mountains, and 
we meet them along the Galveston, Harrisburg.and San Antonio Rail- 
road where they extend toward the river and into the interior of Trans- 
Pecos Texas. ‘These cliffs, though of the same period, are not all of 
the same horizon, and they border everywhere large flats or basins be- 
tween the eruptive mountains. ‘These basins or flats are all connected, 
and some of them are again subdivided into smaller basins by cliffy, 
Cretaceous ranges. | 

There is a remarkable uniformity of character in the material of the 
respective sedimentary formations and in their arrangement; but while 
the dip of the Carboniferous strata is mostly very slight, frequently 
practically horizontal, the inclination of the Cretaceous is, with few 
exceptions, considerably steeper, and the extent of the visibly remain- 
ing Cretaceous hills or mountain ranges in the western part of Trans- 
Pecos Texas is small compared with the Cretaceous formations along 
the eastern slope of the divide toward the Pecos river, which country 
has been regarded as entirely Cretaceous, but it may be safely predicted 
that closer examinations will also show remnants of the Carboniferous 
plateau. 

Up to this time I have found no Tertiary deposits in those parts of 
Trans-Pecos Texas which I have had opportunity to examine, and I 
think it is not possible they can exist, in view of the denudations 
which evidently took place, since not only were the Cretaceous strata 
destroyed, but the erosion cut down even to the Devonian. 

The stratigraphic character of the basins or valleys downwards from 
the recent surface covering to the bottom cannot even be guessed. ‘True 
there are a number of wells bored along the Galveston, Harrisburg and 
San Antonio and the Texas and Pacific Railroads, but no records have 
been kept of the strata penetrated in the borings. I ascertained that 
the material at ten hundred and fifty feet in the well at Torbert is seem- 
ingly the same as that a few feet under the grass-roots—loose gravel and 
sand, never touching solid rock. 

These large valleys or basins separating the single mountain ranges 
and mountain groups, cover and obliterate from vision all connections, 
contacts and transitions, and are one-of the greatest obstacles to the 
ready understanding of the geological features of the country. What 
is seemingly the foot of the mountain is in fact the upper part, and the 
foot is buried under several thousand feet of the debris of the strata 
from the Devonian up to the most recent period. 

The mountains between the longitudes 105 degrees and 104 degrees 
55 minutes west of Greenwich, lying between parallel 30:55 north lati- 
tude and the continuous high limestone cliffs about eight miles north 
of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, are generally~called the Sierra 
Carrizo, and the mountain range extending north from the cliffs toward 


and partly alongside of the Salt Lake valley, and terminating at the 


nal 
oe ao 


GEOLOGY. 3885 


Sierra Prieta, are known as the Sierra Diablo, This is here accepted 
as a correct definition of the two ranges. 

After quitting the topographical work last summer, when the topog- 
raphers of the United States Geological Survey resumed this task, I 
began with a closer examination of the Carrizo mountains, and found 
their southern part (south of the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio 
Railroad) to consist in their entirety of crystalline schists of Archean 
age, tilted by and resting on a reddish granitic eruptive rock, and 
flanked by Carboniferous limestones and Cretaceous (?) sandstone. 
The schists are not yet determined petrographically, but judging from 
their appearance they are micaceous, together with talcose clay, slates 
and siliceous schists. Very large strongly ferruginous auartz leads can 
be traced through this whole mountain group, of uniform character 
with those appearing in the Van Horn mountains, about twelve miles 
distant. 

The cliffs of the Sierra Diablo are built up of marine Carboniferous 
limestones, which in their upper part rise in most places nearly perpen- 
dicularly to a height of about two hundred feet above the steep slop- 
ing detrital cone, which in many places, particularly on the north side, 
is indurated to a solid breccia. This gives the impression of a stratum 
of breccia existing between the limestone. Closer examination proves, 
however, that this cannot be the case, since this breccia consists entirely 
of fragments of superimposed strata, and besides can nowhere be found 
on the other side of the mountains. This Carboniferous limestone rests, 
as far as exposed surfaces show, conformably on finer or coarser red grit, 
which, alternating with coarse conglomerates in some places, is ex- 
posed to the height of three hundred feet, and which judging from its 
character and stratigraphic position, is of Devonian age. 

These grit beds thin out south toward the Texas and Pacific Railroad, 
and are there superimposed unconformably on the crystalline schists of 
the Sierra Carrizo, a transition breccia of about one foot intervening 
between the schists and the grits. The cliff along the Texas and Pacific, 
about five miles west of Van Horn, is the only place where I have yet 
found this sequence of strata exposed, but the unconformity of charac- 
ter of the upper strata, partly exposed down to and into the Devonian, 
justified the conclusion that the crystalline schists underlie the whole 
Diablo mountains, and probably extend also under the cliffs bordering 
the east side of the basin flat north of Van Horn, up to the Guadalupe 
mountains. 

Between the cliffs along the railroad and the most southern cliff of 
the Sierra Diablo proper, about eight miles north of the railroad, the 
red grits extend, denuded of the Carboniferous limestone, and form gro- 
tesque cliffs and small plateaus, and fine-grained red sandstone in gently 
sloping hills, some of which are covered with thin limestone strata. 

The western part of the mountain range, between the Texas and 


3886 TRANS-PECOS TEXAS. 


Pacific and the Sierra Diablo cliffs, on the road from Allamore toward 
the Hazel mine, consists of cherty metamorphic limestone mountains 
with intervening strata of crystalline schists and greenstone and basalt- 
ic dykes. East of this road the mountains are composed of a breccia 
of metamorphic Carboniferous limestone with occasional pieces of the 
red sandstone in a hard, mostly ferruginous limy cement. West of 
Carrizo station the front cliffs are obliterated, leaving only gently slop- 
ing Carboniferous limestone hills. 

The cliffs appear again at Eagle Flat, ten miles west of Allamore, 
running there for a distance of about one mile parallel with the Texas and 
Pacific, and terminating northwest in a number of partly obliterated 
mountains, also of Carboniferous age; and here, in and between the © 
mountains, we meet again a range of brecciatic mountains, now and 
then visibly underlaid with the red grits of the Sierra Diablo. 

On the south side of Eagle Flat cliffs I found in the ravines the out- 
cropping of the Sierra Carrizo schists. The talus, however, covers the: 
foot of the hill to such an extent that a contact between the schists 
and the Devonian cannot be positively proved, though there can be 
little doubt that the schists rest on the same or similar eruptive rocks 
as in the Carrizo mountains. The extension of the granitic and 
porphyritic rock up to Eagle Flat and further east, and its connection 
with those in New Mexico, cannot be doubted and will certainly be 
proved as soon as the observations can be extended to the Guadalupe 
mountains, the mountain groups north of the Sierra Diablo, and further 
west to the Hueco ranch and the Franklin range, the most southern 
part of the Organ mountains. 

Fuller knowledge of the more northern portion of Trans-Pecos Texas 
and of New Mexico is missing up to date, and therefore it is difficult, 
or more correctly, it is impossible to correlate the plateau formation of 
West Texas with that of the Zuni plateau; but many of the charac- 
teristic features of the Zuni plateau, as described by Captain C. EH. 
Dutton, seem to find their counterparts in Trans-Pecos Texas. Toward 
the east we have also to deal with Carboniferous plateaus and inter- 
vening large basins, and with strata covered with lava and trachytic . 
rocks, though volcanic cones and the product of true volcanoes seem 
to be missing. ‘The lavas, basalt and trachytes here are evidently the 
product of fissure eruptions of great extent, for we find the eruptive 
rock cappings from the Eagle and Van Horn mountains east through 
the Viejo and Chinatti mountains to and into the Apache group and its 
continuation towards the great bend in the Rio Grande. 

We evidently have to deal in West Texas with the same forces active 
in the denudation, and we come to the conclusion that the mountains, 
as far as they are not the remnants of former high lands, were not 
elevated and pressed up ‘by horizontal compression, but by the action 
of plutonic and volcanic forces. 


PLATE XVI. 


» oo * t 
a5 : : 
‘ ; t 
‘ <s : ; 
I reas 
° 4 : 
| teen elie . 
| » ° te tw ® 
: otarks 
‘| v A 2 ss t i] 
| ‘| wits Ue 
‘ % oS RS NU - x" 
{ ¢ ay | ~ A 
some NES 
Al SI 
Y d ; Q 


G 
_Dr 
“y 


rt paren 
= 
eres = 
DAS Ldn PEN. Mes ae 


a a 


VERTICAL SECT 


PLATE XVI. 


THIRD ANNUAL REPORT, 1891. 


SURVEY OF TEXAS. 


GEOLOGICAL 


20 


$8, 


4 


0 


7 


be 72 20 


25% 10 39 he So 


bn 


+7) 


eck 


22.7. 


Va 


Poy aft. =e 


al 


N 


° 


ioe 
ar 


/, 
dC opje2 


HORIZONTAL SECTIONS. 


VERTICAL SECTION. 


HAZEL MINE. 


Ay ‘ 
AL 


HAZEL MINE. 887 


The absence, or perhaps only the scarcity, of visible contacts of the 
eruptive with the sedimentary horizons makes it impossible to express 
a well founded conclusion about the age of the eruptions, but it seems 
probable that we will have to call most of them Tertiary—hardly any 
older than Cretaceous. 

Very little prospecting is done in the Carrizo mountain group, but 
even the little work done up to date justifies the expectation of excel- 
lent results from more extensive work. ‘The shallow diggings of 
Uncle Jake’s prospect, though not having yet struck the main lead, 
shows fine specimens of gray copper (Fahlerz,) which may be regarded 
asa silver ore. The surface material from an iron outcrop five miles 
west of Van Horn contains sulphate of lead crystals, and assayed in 
some specimens seventeen ounces of silver. It can hardly be doubted 
that this irom outcrop, which in the same hill runs parallel with other 
similar croppings, is only the iron capping (gossan) of a large silver- 
bearing lead and copper lead. A number of the older prospect holes 
near Bass’s canyon show very promising ores on dump, and were 
abandoned before the wells at Van Horn station were finished, because 
it was nearly impossible to find even a scanty supply of water nearer 
than fifteen or twenty miles from the prospect. 

As far as the ore-bearing character of the Sierra Diablo is concerned, 
I have to state that up to this time I have been able to examine only 
the part located between the ‘Texas and Pacific Railroad and the cliffs 
eight miles north. The age and character of the mountains anda 
number of mostly shallow holes, some of them showing well defined 
leads with good material on dump, prove that this part of the country 
fully deserves to be ranged among the mineral districts of the State. 
I find full confirmation of what has been before said about their ores; 
and in this district we find, in spite of the drawbacks mentioned over 
and over in every one of my former reports, the well developed Hazel 
mine at the foot of the Sierra Diablo cliff. 

This mine is owned by Messrs. Shriver & Andrews, of San Antonio, 
and is located about ten miles north of Allamore station on the Texas 
and Pacific Railroad. The gangue is nearly perpendicular. Its width 
to a depth of about five hundred feet averages thirty-four feet, below 
this depth it widens to over forty feet. Its longitudinal extension may 
be traced for several miles, and its nearly uniform thickness is ascer- 
tained for eighteen hundred feet by the present workings shown in the 
accompanying sketch. ‘The gangue is in a fissure between a fine 
grained red sandstone of probable Devonian age, which also forms the 
walls, and which, in the vicinity of the gangue, is more or less metal- 
liferous. The gangue has a whitish gray colored calcareous silicate, 
more or less impregnated through nearly its whole width with copper 
and silver.sulphide and other metal combinations, and numerous richer 


388 TRANS-PECOS TEXAS. 


veinlets fill the space between the two principal veins known as the 
north and south veins. 

The north vein runs from the outcrop to the whole depth reached at 
the time I made the examination (June, 1891,) down to five hundred and 
seventy-five feet practically perpendicularly. The south vein runs also 
perpendicularly to about one hundred and fifty feet, when it changes 
its dip slightly to the north and joins the north vein at about four 
hundred and fifty feet from the surface. 

At about three hundred feet from the surface another vein was struck 
on the.scuth side, which joins the north vein at about five hundred feet. 


A vein running in at three hundred and sixty feet through the south | 


wall dips nearly parallel with the north vein to the full depth of the 
shaft, thus forming the south vein in the deeper parts of the mine. 
The strike of the gangue and the veins is nearly true east and west. 
The east shaft, on which most of the work has been done, is sunk on 
the south vein, reaching (June, 1891,) the depth of five hundred and 
seventy-five feet. From this shaft every fifty feet crosscuts are made 
to the north vein, determining the average width of the gangue from 
wall to wall to be about thirty-five feet. From these crosscuts as well 
as directly from the shaft, more or less extensive drifts are run in the 
north and south veins, as shown by the acompanying sketch, and the 


quantity and quality of ore struck by shafting and drifting in the veins- 


and in pockets is highly promising to actual mining by stoping. 

The west shaft is sunk on the north vein, eighteen hundred feet west 
of the east shaft, to a depth of three hundred and seventy-five feet and 
about three hundred and fifty feet of crosscuts and drifts worked from 
this shaft. 

The middle shaft is three hundred feet west from the east shaft, on 
the north vein. It is forty-two feet deep, and was last June a drift of 
about forty feet in a material of the same character as the east shaft. 
The walls, as well as the gangue material in all the shafts and drifts, 
are sound and solid, and therefore very little timbering is required. 
Up to the time I made an examination of this mine no obnoxious gases 
were noticed, except those resulting from the blasts, and very little 
water was struck in the shafts and drifts. | 

The principal ores of the main veins, as well as the veinlets and 
pockets, are silver-bearing copper glance, gray copper, silver copper 
glance, silver glance, native silver, chlorides with more or less copper. 
Lead, antimony and arsenites are found in traces, and traces of gold are 
not infrequent, and strongly ferruginous specimens assayed ninety-five 
hundredths of an ounce in gold and thirteen ounces in silver. The gray 
copper yields very high assays up to two thousand ounces in silver, 
and assays of some of the copper glance exceed six hundred ounces to 
the ton. 


ge PAR 


HAZEL MINE. 3889 


These as well as the other combinations mentioned above are deposited 
through the vein material (calc-silicates, frequently heavy spar) widen- 
ing out occasionally to pockets of considerable size, and resulting in 
those ores which stand shipping without concentration. 

The whole gangue between the east and west shaft may be regarded 
as filled in with low grade ore through which the richer veins, pockets 
and veinlets are dispersed, and I regard it anything but an exaggeration 
to estimate the value of the ores in this mine as far as it is opened for 
work at twenty million ounces of silver. 

There is no doubt that the greater part of the material on dump, not 
rich enough to be shipped without concentration, is a low grade ore 
worth being worked by lixiviation. 

The red sandstone, in which the gangue runs to the depth of five 
hundred and seventy-five feet, will probably change into a crystalline 
schist or granitic rock at greater depth, and this change will in all prob- 
ability favorably influence the ore-bearing. 

There are numerous outcrops and prospects in the Sierra Carrizo, up 
to the cliffs of the Sierra Diablo, just as promising as those of the Hazel 
mine were. ‘The same can be said of the outcrops and prospects of the 
Quitman and Chinatti mountains. To develop them requires only capi- 
tal, energy and experience, as proved by assays made in the laboratory 
of the Geological Survey. 


INDEX. 


A. 
Abilene, xxi, 286. 


Acknowledgments, xlix, liv, lv, lix, lx. | 


Acton, 294. 
Adams, S. A., lviii. 
Agassiz, Prof. Louis, 205. 
Agatic flints, 341, 342. 
Agriculture, xxv, 186. 
Alabama, xxiti, 18, 47, 112. 
crossing, 29. 
postoffice, 15. 
Alba, 36, 50. 
Alba Coal Mining Company, lviii. 
Albany, xxi. 
Albuquerque, 150. 
Alexander, 301, 307. 
Alfalfa, 160. 
Alkali, 213, 219, 221. 
flat, 158. 
spots, 219. 
Allamore, 386, 387. 
Allen School House, 38. 
Alluvium, 8. 
Almonds, 192. 
Altered glauconitic sandstones, 6, 8. 
Alternating beds, xxix, 272, 273, 281, 
289, 290, 292, 294, 300, 306, 307, 
336, 337, 338, 375. 
rocks, 293, 303. 
series, 336, 338. 
Altitudes—see Elevations. 
Alto, 52, 56, 59, 92, 105, 106, 108, 112, 124. 
Alvord, 283. 


Amarillo, lvi, 132, 149, 150, 227, 238, | 


241, 248. 
American desert, 193. 


Ammonites, 167, 208, 214, 275, 276, 303, | 


321, 345, 346, 350, 352, 354, 356. 
A. acuto-carinatus, 275, 339, 345, 360. 
A. pedernales, 303, 340. 
A. peruvianus, 339. 
Analyses, xliii, 1xi. 
of alkali spots, 219. 
Austin limestone, 351, 352, 354. 
greensands, 29, 359. 
iron ores, 31-33, 
lignite, 34. 
marl, 355-357. 
salt, 185. 
soda lake water, 189. 
soils, 22-24, 219, 220, 379. 
waters, xliv. 
nderson county, xviii, 5, 8, 18, 29, 40, 
46, 52, 65. 
derson’s mill, 300. 
\drews county, 181. 
\gelina county, xviii, 90. 
iosperms, 210. 


Annual Report, First, xxx, 5, 14, 30, 43, 
46,134, 144, 170, 171, 227, 251, 283, 
328, 348. 
Second, xxi, xlii, xlviii, 5, 46, 134, 
170, 227, 328. 
Third, xvii. 
Third of Louisiana, 46. 

Anomia, 108, 316, 318, 354, 357, 358. 

A. ephippioides, 55, 56, 57, 107. 

Anson, xxi. 

Antelope Gap, 335. 

Anthon, 283. 

Antimony, 388. 

Antlers, 371. 

Apples, 192. 

Apricots, 197. 

Aramus giganteus, 254. 

Arca, 136, 167, 168, 298, 302, 303, 360, 
361, 362. 

A. mississippiensis, 56. 

Archean, 385. 

Arcopagia, 167. 

A. texana, 306. 

Area, artesian, 285, 367, 368. 
Carboniferous, 330, 335. 
Cretaceous, xxix, 46, 227, 286, 287, 

326. oa 
denuded, 288, 330. 
drift ols. 
Eocene, 47. 
erosion, 284. 
Houston county, 5. 
iron ores, 30, 31. 
‘Lampasas-Williamson section, 326. 
Lutkin deposits, 58. 
Marine beds, 52. 
Paleozoic, 306. 
Pleistocene, 64. 
prairies, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13. 
Recent, 67. 
Saline, 46. 
Silurian, 328. 
Tertiary, 64. 
Triassic, 234. 
Trinity sands, 284. 

Arkansas Survey, 46. 

Armstrong county, 181, 227, 231-234, 
241, 242. 

Arsenites, 388. 

Artesian areas, 285, 367, 368. 
basin, 327, 332, 369-371. 
conditions, xxv, xxix, 177, 366. 
water, xxii, xxiv, xxviii, lv, lix, 

177-180, 188, 213, 331, 366-373. 
wells, xxiv, xxxi, 177, 179, 187, 221— 
223, 285, 303, 310, 327, 334, 368, 
Ash, 39, 375, 378. 
Ashcraft, lviii, 124. 


392 INDEX. 

Asphaltum, xxviii. | Beds, 271. 

Assays, lxi. | Alternating, xxix, 272, 273, 281, 289, 
Astronomical station, xviil. 290, 292, 294, 300, 306, 307, 336- 


Asylum for the insane, 295. 
Atlanta, 52. 
Atlas sheets. xix. 
Aucella horizon, 353. 
Augusta, 6, 15, 29, 8 33. 
Austin, xxvi, xxix, xxxi, liii, lvi, vil, 
lviii, lix, ve 274-290, 295, 348, 367. 
chalk, 271. 
limestone division, Sr ee 
limestones, spe 271, 
marble, 272, 275, 338, 342. 343, 344. 
Austin, Stephen F., 181. 
Austria, xxxii, xxxiv, xk xix, 
Azimuth, Xxill. 


B. ; 


Bachelor’s Peak, 274, 326, 
Baculites, 354, 356, 358, 359. 
Bagdad, 333. 
Baker & Co.’s brickyard, 1 
Baker, J. D., 60. 
Baker’s crossing, 307, 
Baker’s School House, 338-340, 
Baker’s Switch, 111-1138, 124. 
Balcones escarpment, 276 D. 
fault, lx, 276, 282, 333, 334, 340, 342, 
344, 346-349, 351, 364, 369, B77. 
Bailey county, 182. 
Ballinger, xxi. 
Bandera county, xxv. 
Bankston, W. M.,, lviii. 
Barley, 192, 
Barren flags, 275. 
Bartlett, 332. 
Basalt, 386. 
Basaltic dykes, 386. 
eruptions, xxv, xxvii, lx. 
Basin, Carboniferous, 329. 
grass, 143. 
hy drographic, 327, 332. 
Basins, 148, 156, 162, 176, 186, 384, 386. 
artesian, 399, 332, 871; 
Bastrop county, 326, 
Bayou, Beddie’s, 69. 
Caney, 39. 
Cochino, 7, 34, 39. 
Din, 69. 
Double Point, 69. 
Hillebrand’s, 69. 


336-340, 


Hurricane, 6, 7, 14, 15, 28-30, 32, 36, 


39, 57. 

Mayhew, 69. 

North Fork, 69. 

Pecan, 286. 287, 320. 

Pine Island, 67, 123, 125. 

Point, 69, 

Taylor’s, 69. 

Texas, 69, 
Beaumont, lviii, 69, 70, 123, 125: 
Beddard, F. E., 254. 


338, 375. 

Angelina county. 45, 

Arietina, 277, 343. 

Basal, 8, 47. 

Blanco, 134, 141, 150, 158, 154, 156, 
159, 166, 170, 172. 

Blanco canyon, xxvi, lv, 134, 170, 
251, 256. 

Caprina, 274, 275, 281, 293, 305, 300, 
307, 319, 323, 332, 341-344, 376. 

Cardium, 337. 

Carboniferous, 301. 

Celestite, 300, 337. 

Comanche Peak, 274, 293, 301, 306, 
307, 319, 320, 382, 343, 376. 

Cook’s Mountain, 54, 58, 

Denison, 272, 276, 277. 

Dockum, ly, ‘151, 161, 163, 227-247, 
257. 

Eocene, 8. 15, 59, 60. 

Equus, 170, 251. 

Escondido, xxvii, 271. 

Exogyra arietina, 277, 

Fayette, xxii, xxiii, 8 14, 45, 61, 62, 
64, 171, 172, 251, 

Fish, xxvii 

Fleming, 58, 62, 63. 

Flint, 333 

Fort Worth, 272, 348, 344. 

ae a xxvi, 276, 291, 300, 

oo. 

Glauconitic, xxvii, 51, 279, 359. 

Glen Rose, lix, 272-274, 281, 289, 
291, 294, 300, 303, 307, 312, 318, 
316, 318, 319, 321, 324” 325, 331, 
336- 338, 367, 369. 

Green river, 134. 

Greensand, 112, 358, 

Grit, 385. 

Gryphzea, 208, 300. 

Kiannitia, 344, 345, 

Lignite, xxiv, 45, 50, 66. 

Lime marl, 272, 

Limestone, xxiii, 330, 333, 337. 

Loup Fork, xxvi, 170. 

Lower Cretaceous, 327. 

Marine, 47, 51, 52, 54, 57. 

Marl, 273. 

Miocene, 8, 9, 15. 

Navarro, xxvii. 

Oolitic, 205. 

Paleozoic, 321. 

Paluxy, xxix, lix, 278, 281, 292-294, 
304, 306, 338, 367. 

Permian, 137, 160, 165, 166, 182, 185 
301. 

’ Pliocene, 170. 
Ponderosa, 71. 
Quadriplicata, 372. 
Queen City, 50, 51. 


INDEX. 


Beds—continued. 
Red, 150, 164, 212, 286, 323. 
Red river. 276-278. 367. 
Reynosa, xxiii, 365. 
Sand, 162, 167. 
Smithville, 18. 
Tertiary, 141, 149, 151, 246. 
Texana, 272-274, 281, 289, 292, 293, 
300, 301, 303, 304, 306, 307, 309, 
312, 313, 315, 319-321 , 338-340, 345, 
367, 375-377. 
Timber Belt, xxii. xxiii, 45, 47. 
Triassic, 141, 151, 205, 229-2383. 
Trinity, lix, 273, 281, 292, 294, 300, 
301, 312, 324, 330, 336, 367, 369. 
Tucumcari, xxvi, 152-154, 156, 172, 
173, 201-210. | 
Upper Cretaceous, 327. 
Vola limestone, 277. 
White river, 134. 
Bell county, 290, 331, 332, 333. 
Belle Plains, 320. 
Bell, Lieut. George, 69. 
Benbrook, 320, 371. 
Bench formation, 32. 
Benches, 291, 292, 302, 351. 
Ben Ficklin, 137. 
Berryman’s hill, 106. 
Berryman, Waters, 106, 107. 
Big Springs, lvi, 132,134, 189, 175, 177, 
179, 181, 185, 188, 236. 
Black Bald Knob, 339. 
Black, J. W., lix, lx. 
Black land prairie, 367, 
Black river, lvii. 
Black sand, 94, 111, 112, 147. 
Black, W. L., lvi. 
Black waxy land, 378. 
Blake, Wm. P., 134, 202. 
Blue crystals, 537. 
Blue marl, xxvii, 271, 279, 353, 354, 378. 
Bluff, Alabama, 19, 29, 338, 57, 59, 92. 


Brookfield, 14, 15, 19, 24, 29, 33, 37. | 


Burleson shell, xxiv. 
Grigsby’s, 66, 69, 70. 
Hall’s, 9, 18, 19, 29, 32, 33, 37. 
Hyde’s, 6, 10, 16, 33, 35. 
Red, 218. 
tufaceous lime, 334. : 
Westmoreland’s, 33, 35, 
Wootters’, 18. 
Bluff Dale, 310, 370. 
Bluffs, 291, 292, 318, 322, 329, 333, 337, 
340, 350, 353, 355, 357, 362. 
Bodan, 111, 124. 


Bohemia, xxxii, xxxiv, xxxvii, xxxix. | 
| 
| Calthorp, 6, 17. 


Bois d’Arc, 192. 

Bolton’s Switch, 75, 124. ' 

Bonita, 283, 319. 

Borden county, lvi, 132, 139, 140, 181, 

. | > 227, -233, 238. 

\ Bosque county, lix, 274, 289, 290, 293, 

301, 315, 369. 

division, xxix, lix, 272, 281, 289, 301, 
307, 320, 327, 335, 337, 348, 369. 

series, 292. 


393 


Bosqueville, 277. 


Bottom lands, 6. 8, 113, 114, 365. 


Bowers, 61. 66, 117, 125. . 
Bowlders, lix. 30, 33, 38, 48, 64, 161, 163, 
330, 335, 346, 349, 352. 


| Brackettville, xix. 


Bradshaw, 105, 124. 

Brady, lvi. 

Brazeal, W. C., 16. 

Breccia, 385, 386. 

Breslau, xiii. 

Brueggerhoff, 333. 

Brieks38: <4 

Bricks, coal, xxxiv. 

Bridgeport, 283. 

Briquettes, xxxili, xxxiv, xxxvi, xxxvii, 
2 oa bgp) VL 

Briscoe county, lvi, 182, 231, 241, 242. 

Brooks Saline, 46. 

Browncoal, xxxii-xli. 
Bohemian, xxxvi, xxxvili. 
common, xxxili, xxxv. 
earthy, xxxlli, xxxvi. 
European, xxxii, xxxiv. 
statistics, xxxiv. 
Texas, xxxili, xl. 


| Brown county, 283-286, 289, 290. 

| Broxon, County Surveyor, lviii. 

| Buffalo, 130. 

| Buffalo Gap, 286, 301, 320, 321, 322. 


Building material, 168. 
stones, xxiv, xxviii, 36, 136, 149, 

167, 232, 240, 248. 

Bulcher, 283, 294. 

Bullard, 51, 52, 92, 124. 

Bullion» CAs lvic 

Bunch yrass, 146, 194. 

Burke, 1138, 114, 124. 

Burleson shell bluff, xxiv. 

Burnet, 282, 331. 


| Burnet county, 1lx,.274, 282, 283, 285, 


290, 295, 324, 330-334, 337, 338, 340, 
367, 369, 375, 376, 377. 

Burnet hill, 124. 

Burroak, 375. 

Buttes, 274, 283, 284. 286, 288, 311, 317, 
320, 321, 323, 388. 


. C. 


Calcareous sandstone, 336, 338. 

tufa, 164. 
Calcite, 149, 168, 241, 242, 317, 337. 
California, 175, 194. 


| Callahan county, 283, 284, 286, 288, 289, 


320. 


Cambrian, xxvi. 
Cameron, xxii, lviil. 


| Campbell’s rauch, 147. 
_Campyladiscus bicostatus, 251. 
| Canals, 157, 159, 216, 217, 218. 


Canyon, Blanco, 134, 143, 183, 184. 
Bass’s, 387. 
Mulberry, 147, 181, 241, 286, 320, 
322. 


394 


Canyon—continued. 

Palo Duro, lvi, 132, 134, 147, 149, 
_ 181, 182, 184, 188, 233, 241-243. 
Spring Creek, 183. 

Terra Blanco, 184. 

Yellow House, 142, 183, 185, 186, 

187, 239. 
Yellow Wolf, 286. 


Canyons, xxiii, 132, 133, 150, 165, 170, 


175, 178, 179, 184 188, 195, 286, 323. 
Caprina. 136, 141, 168 
C. crassifibra, 306, 341, 262, 363. , 
Caprotina, 136, 168, 169, 207, 275, 306, 
'.» 811, 337, 341, 344. 361, 362; 363; 

C. ‘(Requienia) penguiscula, 297, 298. 
C. texana, 341. 

Carbonate of lime, 162, 164, 165, 189. 
Carboniferous, xxvi, xxix, lv, lvi, 135, 

165, 167, 178, 

222, 223, 282, 288, 287, 295, 301, 319, 

328, 383, 384, 386. 

Carboniferous basin, 329. 
Carboniferous-Cretaceous contact, xxix, 

326. 

Carboniferous-Permian contact, 287. 
Carboniferous plateaus, 386. 

Cardita, 47, 107, 108. 

GC} planicosta, 19, 49, 50, 58, 55, 56, Bie 

CVG 1) 

C. tetrica, 57. 

Cardium, 71, 318, 321, 358, 362. 

4 hillanum, 208, 209, 297, 306, 316, 340. 
C. mediale, 313, 316, eye 360, 361, 362. 
Carlsbad, xxxviil. 

Carrizo Springs, xxii. 

Carrizo Station, 386. 

Cass county, 50, 52, 65, 68, 89. 

Castle Gap, 167. 

Castro county, 183. 

Caverns, 162. 

Cedar, 165, 181, 182, 377. 

Cedar Gap, 286. 

Cedar Top Peak, 339, 340. 

Celestite, 300, 337, 361. 

Cement, xxviil. 

Cenozoic series, 252. 

Centralia, 168. 

Central Mineral District, xxx, liv, 324, 

328, 330, 388. 

Central Cretaceous area, XXix. 
Central Texas, xxv, xxvii, lv. 

Section, xxvii. 
Cerithium whitfieldi, 
Chalk?271, 320: 
Chamberlain, President, 251. 
Chamide, 274, 275,341, 344. 

Charcoal, xxxv. 

Charlotte P. O., 169. 

Chaves, Amando, 130. 

Chemical Department report, 1xi. 

laboratory, xliii. 

Cherokee county, xviii, 44, 52, 56, 59, 

60, 65, 90, 92, 99, 112. 

Cherries, 192, 
Chester, 118, 125. 


19, 56, 57 


, 169, 275, 341, 344. - 


180, 211, 212, 218, 221,. 


INDEX. 


Chloride of sodium, 180, 215. 
Choctaw Nation, 371, 372. 
Circleville, 333. 
Claiborne, xxiii, 18, 112. 
Clarendon, lvi, 132, 146, 147. 
Clarke, Dr. W. P., xlii. 
Clark’s crossing, 59, 114, 116. 
Clark’s ferry, 61. 
Claude, 147. 
Clauson’s, 124. 
Clavella penrosei, 57. 
Clay county, 288. 
Clay ironstone, 382. 
Clays, xxii, xxili, xxiv, xxXvill,'3, 9j/3a) 
45, 48, 49, 51, 52, 59, 61, 62, 64, 66, 
69, 72, 89, 107, 108, 111, 112, 116, 
119, 120. 121; 185, 188, 139, 148; 
153, 158, 160, 161, 162, 168, 202, 
212, 213, 228, 229, 240, 244, 245, 
246, 275. 
Arietina, 174, 214 272, 273, 277, 345, 
347, 349, 378, 377. 
Basal, xxii, xxiii, 45, 47, 50, 51, 52, 
64, 72. . 
Carboniferous, 282. 
Coast, xxiv, 45, Tits 
Fayette, xxiv. 
Kiamitia, 275, 320, 338, 344, 346. 
Permian, 138, 216. 
Triassic, 138, 139. 
Upson, xxvii. 
Wills Point, 45, 47. 
Walnut, 274, 305. 
Clayton Wells, 161, 162, 163, 246, 
Cleburne, xxi. 
Clepsysaurus. Zot 
Cliffs, 333, 383, 384, 385, 386. 
Clio, 283. 
Coal, XX Villol 2, 
basin, Eagle Pass, xxviii, 
bricks, xxxXiv, XXXvi. 
measures, 212. 
series, xxvii, 271. 
Coal Camp, 108, 124. 
Coastai prairies, 68. 
Coast and Geodetic Survey, U. S., xvii, 
XVeit- Mio SPX Oe! 
Coast clays, xxiv, 45, 171. 
Coast marshes, 65, 66. 
Cobblestone, 363, 364, 365, 
Cobb’s switch, 49, 72, 124. 
Cochran county, 183, 
Coke, Xxxv,-xxXxviitl. 
Coke county, xix, 286, 320. 
Cold Spring Church, 106. 
Coleman county, 286, 288. 
Colmesneil, xxii, lviii, 59, 62, 65, 120, 
TZ eb: 
Colorado basin, 292. 
Colorado- Brazos divide, 288, 332. 
water-sheds, 330, 338. 
Colorado City, 138. 
Colorado River Section, xxvii, xxix, 18. 
Columbia formation, 113. 
Columbus, xlii. 


INDEX. 


Comanche, 284, 

Comanche county, 283, 284, 290, 293, 
320, 324, 369. 

Comanche Peak, 284, 290, 298, 307, 319, 
320, 370. 

Comanches, 130. 

Comanche series, 205, 272, 320. 

Comb’s Hollow, 300. 

Comer, 124. 

Comstock, ip eg ext 
Report of, liv. 

Concord, 67, 125. 

Conical hills, 311, 323. 

Conglomerates, xxiii, xxix, 31, 64, 65, 
66, 117, 188-141, 144, 146, 147, 150- 
152, 161,: 162, 164, 167, 182, 228, 
232, 289, 240, 242, 244, 245, 246, 282, 
287, 295, 301, 303, 309, 322, 323, 
324, 385. 

Connellee’s Peak, 1382. 

Content P. O., 287. 

Conus sauridens, 57, 

Convict labor, xxxi. 

Cooke county, 276, 281, 283, 294. 

Cook’s farm, 160. 

Cook’s Mountain series, 45, 52, 54-57. 

Co-operation of United States Coast and | 

Geodetic Survey, xxi. . 
United States Geological Survey, | 
XXiii. / 

with Public High Schools, xlvii. 

Cope, Professor E. D., xlii, 170, 234, 255. 
Report of, 251. 

Copeland, 326. 

Copper, 387, 388, 389. See Ores. 

Coprolites, 148, 149, 242. 

Corals, 241, 363. 

Corderia texana, 57. 

Corn, 195, 376. 

Corn Hill, 332, 368, 369. 

Coronado, 130. 

Corpus Christi, xxii, lix. 

Correlation, 311, 323. 

Correspondence, xlix. 

Corrigan, xxii, lviii, 60, 61, 115, 116, 125. 

Coryell county, 289, 290, 293, 332, 370. 

Costata, 264. 

Cotton, 376. 

Cottondale, 284, 316, 317. 

Cottonwood, 154, 157, 216, 375. 

Cottonwood Mott, 144. 

Cotulla, xxii, lix. 

Coufinhal, xxxix. 

Cowan ranch, 233, 246, 247. 

Crane county, lvii, 227, 238. 

Crassatella antestriata, 56, 57. 

C. texana, 56. 

Crawfishy lands, 10, 26, 28. 

Creccoides, 257. 

» C. osbornii, 253. 

Creek, Allen, 48, 72. 

Amarillo, 150. 
Antelope, 328, 331, 335. 
Atoi, 59. 
Bald Eagle, 137. 


328. 


XXV, XXVili, 


395 


Creek—continued. 
Baptising, 107. 
Barton, 341, 363. 
Battle, 146. 
Battleground, 333, 364. 
Bear, 332, 338, 339. 
Beaver, 331. 
Bennett, 331, 338. 
Berry, 105, 333, 347, 368. 
Big Lucy, 331, 338. - 
Big Sandy, 51. 
Bitter, 287, 320, 322. 
Boggy, 333. 
BOX, ve 
Brushy, 326, 332-334, 341-345, 347- 

350, 352, 354-357, 359, 364, 368,378. 

Bull, 282, 299. 
Burleson, 331. 
Camp, 7, 39, 289, 300, 370, 371. 
Caney, 7, 75, 76, 79; 80. 
Cedar, 286. 
Channel. 333, 349. 
Clear, 331. 
Collin, 29. 
Copperas, 38. 
Cow, 282, 295, 297. 
Cow House, 370. 
Coyote, 157, 245, 246. 
Crawfish, 143. 
Crawford’s, 135. 
Crooked, 74. 
Cypress, 7, 282, 300. 
Davis 381. 

Deer, 331. 
Delaware, lvii, 
177, 180, 212, 

Devil’s, 233. 

Donaldson, 329, 331, 332, 335, 337, 
338, 339. 

Donahoe, 332. 

Dry, 149. 

Dry Brushy, 383, 342. 

Duck, 2338, 239, 240, 344, 345. 

Duffau, 370, 

Dutcbman, 144, 

Elkhart, 7, 30, 38, 39. 

Encampment, 151. 

Felix, 159. 

Fish, 286, 323. 

Flat, 17, 28, 32, 33. 34. 

Fossil, 132, 162)" 154,.-4725173,%202. 
233, 244, 245, 

Girard, 138. 

Giraud, 235, 236. 

Green’s, 308, 370. 

Hairston, 282, 295, 331. 

Hamilton, 295, 331. 

Hammond, 31. 

Happy, 242. 

Harmon, 30. 

Hickory, 7, 14, 39, 282, 293, 295, 331. 

Holmes, 146, 241, 242. 

Home, 148, 242. 

Hondo, 159. 

Hoppy, 148. 


134, 164-166, 175, 
214, 217, 223. 


396 


Creek—continued. 
Hord’s, 286. 
Hubbard, 287, 289. 
Jim Ned. 286, 287, 321. 
Jones, 233, 240. 
‘Kickapoo, 283. 
Knight’s, 36. 

Lake, 333. 

Little Mud, 146. 

Little Red, 146. 

Lost, 7. 

Lynch, 328, 331. 

McDonald’s, 142, 239. 

MclLean’s, 32. 

McManus, 61, 125, 

McNutt, 333. 

Mesquite, 326, 331, 332, 334, 337, 338, 
339, 368. 

Mill, 75, 332. 

Millan 33. 

Miller, 338. 


Morgan’s, 139, 173, 235, 237, 283, 


331. 
Muddy Cedar, 48, 71, 124. 
Mulberry, 146, 322. 
Mustang, 333, 355, 357, 358, 364. 
Negro, 7, 39. 
North ‘Rocky, 337, 338, 339. 
North Spring, 159, 215. 
Oak, 286, 323. 
Opossum, 332. 
Pajarito, 155. 
Paluxy, 293, 307, 310, 369, 370. 
Pijarro, 245. 
Piney, 7, 34, 39. 
Pleasant, 148, 242. 
Plum, 289. 
Postoak, 282, 297. 
Rocky, 326, 332, 334, 
369, 376. 
Rocky Cedar. 48, 49, 72, 124. 
Rocky Dell, 151, 248. 
Running Brushy, 3338, 342. 
Running Water, 186. 
Rush, 242. 
Russell’s, 125. 
Sadler, 29. 
Salado, 332, 368. 
Sabine, 79. 
Salt, 142, 158, 317, 328, 331, 335. 
Sandy, 142, 282, 283, 290, 298. 300. 
San Pedro, 7, 14, 19, 29, 30, 31, 39. 
School, 331, 368. 
Silver, 20, 23. 
Sims, 331, 338, 368. 


South Rocky, 334, 337, 338, 339, 376. 


South Spring. 159, 215. 
Spring, 282, 331. 

Squaw, 370. 

Sulphur, 326, 329, 331, 335, 368. 
Sycamore, 331. 

Tantabogue, 7, 39. 

_ Tobacco, 185. 

Toyah, 218. 

Tucumcari, 155. 


837, 339, 368, 


INDEX. 


Creek—continued. 

Turkey, 333, 364. 
Twenty-five Mile, 158. 
Village, 65, 66, 123, 125. 
Walnut, 48, 71, 316, 318, 371. 
West Amarillo, "943, 

White, 332. 

White Rock, 7, 37, 39, 40, 60. 
Wild Horse, 235, 237. 
Williamson, 332. 

Yellow, 14. 

Yellow House Cea 239. 
Yellow Wolf, 286, 320, 323. 

Cretaceous, xxii, xxiii, xxv, XXvi, XXviii, 
XXLXORK Ss, xii, lv, lvi, 1x, 43, 44, 45, 
46, 48, 80, 134, 135, 136, 139, 142, 144, 
146, 164, 170, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 
177, 178, 180, 190, 201, 205-212, 214, 
215, 222, 229, 233, 236, 238, 244, 247, 
279, 283, 284, 286, 287, 292, 295. 307, 
317, 319, 321, 322, 323, 328, 329, 331, 
354, 378, 384, 387. 

Cretaceous area, 46, 227, 286, 287, 326. 

Report on, 269. 

border, 327, 328, 330, 331. 

drift, 365. 

hills, 136, 138, 144,178, 174, 214, 287. 

Lower, XXv, XXvi, xXvii, xliii, lix, 
136, 172, '257; 269," 2/07. 272; 927) 
277, 278, 281, 290, 323, 324, 326, 
344, 347, 348, 364, 372, 373, 378. . 

Marine, xxvii. 

outliers, 320. 

ranges, 384 

sea, 324. 

shore-line, 51, 178, 184. 

table land, xxv, xxvi, 286, 287, 289. 

Upper, xxv; xXvil, Jix- 47) ile 
269, 271, 277, 278). 282; 8265-343; 
349, 350, 363, 373, 378. 

Cretaceous-Paleozoic contact, 319. 

Cretaceous system of Central Texas, 326. 

Cretaceous-Tertiary contact, xxii, xxix, 
124, 364. 

Crex pratensis, 254. ' 

Crockett, lviii, 5, 6, 7, 8, 18, 15, 17, 18, 28; 
29, 31,32, 33, 36, 38, 40, 59, 92. 

Crockett, Mr., 334, 

Crocodilia, 257, 

Crosby county, lvi, 132, 171, 183, 195, 
231, 232, 234, 239, 251, 256. 

Cross Timbers, 288, 367. 

Lower, 269, 277, 367. 
Upper, 282, 289, 294, 371, 375. 

Pett schists, xxx, lili, 383, 385, 
386. 

Cummins, Duncan H., lvi. 

Cummins, W. «F.) xXi, xxv, xii, xii 
227, 251, 252, 255, 257, 263, 328. 
Reports of, lv, 129. 

Curly mesquite grass, 143. 

Curtis; J. Casi9G 

Cycads. 210. 

Cymbella cistula, 251. 

Cyprimeria, 214. 


nh 


* INDEX. 


C. crassa, 276, 315, 340, 360. 
Cyrena, 313, 318. 
Cytheria leonensis, 208, 209. 


D, 


Daingerfield, 50. 

Daley, 6. 

Dal sr Wr xxii; GL 
Dallas, xxi, 367. 


Dams, xxx, xxxi, 157, 158, 162, 189, 216, 


217, 218. 


Davidson, W. T., 307. 

Davis farm, 376, 

Dawson county, 184. 

Deadman’s Cut, 173. 

Deaf Smith county, 184. 

Decatur, 283, 284, 290, 292, 293, 294, 317, 


318, 319, 324. 
De Gasparin P., 24. as 
De Leon, 283. al 
Del Rio, xxili, xxvi, xxvii, liv. 
Dendrites, 153. 
Denison, 269, 275, 320, 344, 372. 
bed, 272,2/6;-277, 
Dentalium, 57. 
Denuded area, 288, 330. 
Denver, 283. 
Description of counties, 181-189, 
Desdemonia, 283. 
Devil’s Gap, 74. 
Devonian, 384, 385, 386, 387, 
rocks, 328. 383. 
system, 328, 
Diadema, 167, 168, 340, 359. 
D. texanum, 340, 360, 362, 
Dial, 99, 124. 


Dickens county, lvi, 147, 227, 231, 232, 


233, 239, 240. 
Dido, 294. 
Dimmitt, 183. 
Dobyville, 283, 330. 
Dockum, 142, 144, 145, 146, 170, 171, 
227, 233, 239, 256. 
beds, ly, 151, 161, 163, 227-247, 257 
Dogwood, 375. 
Donley county, lvi. 
Douglassville, 50. 
Drainage, xxvi, 7, 12, 18, 328. 
Brazos river, 331. 
Colorado river, 331. 
Lampasas river, 331. 
San Gabriel river, 332. 
Drake, N..F:, lvi, lix, 174, 213. 
Report of, 225. 
Draws, 184, 186, 188. 
Drift, lix, 18, 182, 335, 363-366. 
sand, 157. 


Dublin, 284, 293, 294, 301, 303, 319, 370. 


Dumble, Bi 1.7251, 257) 271;.2732. 
Report of, xvii, 5, 178. 

Duro, 132, 133, 179. 

- Dutton, Captain C. E., 386. 

\Dwarf oaks, 289, 376. 


| 


397 


E. 


| Eagle Flat, xxx, 386. 


Eagle Ford shale, 271, 278, 349, 350, 
351, 367, 374, 378. 
division, 277, 278, 349. 
Eagle Pass. xxi, xxvi, xxvii, liv. 
coal basin, xxviii. 
division, Xxvii, 271, 349. 


| Earth, diatomaceous, xxiv. 
| Earthy browncoal, xxxili, xXXvl. 


| Eason, 114, 124. 


Kast Bay, 68, 69. 


Eastland, xxi. 

Eastland county, 283, 284, 289. 

East Prairie, 6, 9, 10, 12. 

East Texas, xxii, xxiv, 7, 30, 67,-92, 123. 
Echinodermata, xlii, 214. 

| Echinoids, 276, 299, 345, 346. 


| Economic Geology of— 


| Eddy, lvii, 


| Edgewood, 51, 


Cretaceous area, 366. 
Houston ‘county, 22-40. 
Pecos valley, 216. 
Staked Plains, 175-189. 
Ector county, 188. 
159, 160, 161, 162;°163) 217, 
231, 233, 246, 263. 
Eden, xxi. 
73, 124. 


| Edwards county, xix, xxv. 
| Elevations, 6, 7, 10, 11, 44, 52, 69, 84, 


114, 119, 124, 125, 132, 151, 156, 168, 
179, 180, 182, 195, 201, 222,294, 324. 
Ellsworth, F. S., xxviii, liv, lv. 
Elm, 39, 375, 376, 378. 
Elmo, 48, 49, 71, 72, 124. 
El-Paso; ‘xix, X xi; 


_ El Paso county, xix. 
| Endee, 152. 


Hocenté) XxX1V,,XXvil, XXxi, 8,17, 
36, 45, 47, 57, 58, 60, 61. 


18, 19, 


| Eo-lignitic of Heilprin, 47. 


| 


_ Episcoposaurus, 257, 


|. haplocerus, 257. 
_E. horridus, 259. 
| Epithemia gibba, 251. 


_.E. gibberula var. producta, 251. 
F. zebra, 251. 
Equus, 251, 252, 258. 


| E. caballus, 252, 258. 


KE. major, 251. 

KE. occidentalis, 252. 

E. simplicidens, 252. 

Erath county, lix, 283, 284, 285, 290, 294 
301, 324, 369. 

Erosion, xxvi, 7, 54, 58, 60, 1382, 133, 146, 
164, 178, 190, 201, 214, 215, 227, 238, 
282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 291, 293, 
302, 319, 323, 324, 329, 331, 332, 338, 
339, 375, 384. 

Eruptive rocks, -lii. 

Escondido beds, xxvii 271. 

Espuela, 227, 239, 256. 

Headquarters ranch, 240. 
pasture, 142. 


398 


Estacado, 142. 

Estes ranch, 161, 163. 

Hstimates for artesian wells, 371, 372. 

European lignites, xxxii, xxxiv, xxxix. 

Evaporation, 175, 194. 

Examination of materials, xliv. 

Exogyra, 297, 298, 299, 302, 306, 337, 339. 

H. arietina, 214, 276, 277, 346, 347, 348. 

E. columbella, 344, 345, 346, 347. 

E. costata, 358. 

E. ponderosa, 352, 353, 355, 357, 358. 

K. texana, 136-139, 146, 152, 167, 178, 
176, 208, 273, 274, 275, 281, 297, 298, 
299, 303, 305, 306, 315, 317, 321, 322, 
338, 339, 340, 342, 359, 360, 362. 

E. walkeri 346. . 


F. 


Fahlerz, 387. 
Falls, 166, 188 195, 218. 242. 
Fannin county, 271, 371. 
Fant’s, 115, 126. 
Faults, 351. 
Fayette beds, xxli, xxiii, 8, 14, 45, 61, 
62, 64, 171,172, 251. 
clays, XXiv. 
county, 171. 
formation, 251. ; 
sands, xxiv, 45, 58. 60-62. 
Ferruginous gravels. 99, 113, 122, 128, 
material. 7, 64, 86. 89, 90, 93. 
pebbles, 65, 97. 109, 113, 122. 
sandstone, 7, 36, 38, 52, 64, 65, 86, 
109. 111, 304. 
Fibrous calcite, 317. 
gypsum, 213, 241. 
Fire boxes, xxxvii. 


First Annual Report, xxx, 5, 14, 30, 43, | 


46, 134 144, 170, 171, 227, 251, 283, 
328, 343. 
First Report of Progress, xxiii. 
Fish 184, 358. 
beds, xxvii. 
boues. 350. 
teeth, 56, 107, 108, 350. 
Fisher county, xix. 
Fissure eruptions. 386. 
Fitch, Frank, lviii. 
Five Wells, 181, 185. 
Flags, 274, 358. 
Val Verde, xxvii, 271, 278. 
Flagstone, 341, 348, 344, 350. 
Flats, 340, 384. 
Fleming, 45, 62, 63, 118, 125. 
beds. 58. 62, 63. 
Flint, 124. 335, 342, 348,359, 365, 377. 
ea 136, 274, 319, 329, 341, 342, 
16. 
Flood plains. 67. 
Florence, 338, 368. 
Floyd county, 184. 
Folds, 54. 
Foraminifera, 299, 358. 
Forest, 109, 112, 118, 124. 
Forestburgh, 294. 
Forney, Captain Stelman, xxi. 


INDEX. — 


Fort Bliss. xxx. 
Fort Davis xxx, 
Fort Hancock, xix. 
Fort McKavitt. xix, 136. 
Fort Smith, 150. 
Fort Sumner. lvii, 180, 155, 157, 212, 213, 
216, 227, 233; 245, 246. 
Fort Worth, xxi, 275 320. 
Fossiliferous clays, 29, 79, 112. 
greensands, 7, 29, 93. 
iron ore, 32, 33. 
. limestone, 48. 339, 341. 
sands, 8, 29. 79. 
Fossil palm, 118. 
tortoise, 144. 
wood, 8. 10, 11, 12, 45, 


66, 11 Ral ie 
113, 152, 324, 


Fossils, XXili, xxiv, xXvi, XXViljmaeey 


XXXi, xlii, lvi, 47, 54, 56, 57, 60, 61, 
71, 106, 112, 1384-137, 139, 148, 144. 
146-149, 167-170, 173, 174, 177, 207- 
209, 211, 212, 234, 240, 242, 278, 275, 
281, 315, 316, 324 337, 339 345, 347, 
348, 354-357, 362. 363, 365. 
Fragillaria vivescens, 251. 
Fredericksburg beds, xxvi, 276, 291, 292, 
300, 308. 
division, 174, 208, 209, 272, 273, 275, 
276, 281, 282, 284, 289, 292, 320, 
327, 331, 338, 342, 343, 345. 


_ Fruit. 186, 197. 


Frying Pan ranch, 150. 
Fuel, 184. 
Fuller, Perry, xix. 
Fusus, 57. 
: 7G. 
Gabriel Mulls, 333, 362, 377. 
Gaines county. 184. 
Gail, 182, 139, 140, 178, 181, 227, 237, 
238. 
Galveston, xxii, xxiv. xxxi, 69. 
artesian well, xxiv, XXXi. 
bay 67. 
Gannett, Henry. xviii. 
Garrett, Fred, 156. : 
Garza county, lvi, 132, 172, 185, 231, 232, 
233, 239. 
Gas, XXXV, XXX1X. 
Gasteropods, 107, 136, 214, 302, 318, 341, 
358, 359. 
Geanticlinal ridge, 330. 
Geodes, 300. . 
Geological Society of America, xli. 
Geological Survey of Arkansas, 72. 
Geology. xxi, xxv, 336. 
of.country west of Staked Plains, 
201. 
Houston county. 7-21. 
Staked Plains, 134-174. 
Trans-Pecos Texas, 383. 
Stratigraphical, 327. 
Georgetown, 275, 277, 282, 289. 326, 327, 


333, 334, 838, 339. 340, 342. 344, 346, 


-349, 351, 364, 368, 369. 377. 
German browncoal, xxxiil. 


INDEX. 


Germany, XXxXxii, xxxiv, XX3ix. 

Gibtown,, 283. 

Gilbert’s. ranch, 160. 

Gillespie county, xxi, xxv. 

Girsewald, Konrad, liii. 

Gladewater, 50. 

Glance coal, xxxiv. ‘ 

Glasscock, Mr., 196, 

Glasscock, Senator, 334, 

Glauconitic beds, xxvii, 51, 279, 359. 
limestones, 99, 
marine formation, 112. 
marl, 358. 
sands, 51, 92, 98, 358. 
sandstones, 6, 8, 36. 

Glen Rose. 285, 307, 369. 
beds, lix, 272, 273, 281, 289, 291, 294, 

331. 
series, 273. 

Gnathadon cuneatus, 70. 

(Sold, xxx, 388. 

Gomphonema clavatum, 251, 

Goniolina, 297, 298, 318, 361, 362. 

Goode, R. U.. xviii, xix, liii. 

Goodland, O75, 320. 371, 372. 

Goodloe, Meade. liv. 

Goodnight, 132, 147, 227, 241. 

Gordon county, 231. 

Gordon, R. O., xix. 

Goshen, 48. 

Gossan, 387. 

Gramma grass, 194. 

Granbury, 307, 324. 

Grand Gulf, 45, 58, 61, 171. 

Grand Prairie, 367. 

Grand Saline, 45, 46, 51, 76, 

Granger, 382. 

Granite, 383. 

Grapeland. 6, 13, 28, 38. 

Grapes, 151, 198, 375, 376, 378. 

Grates, Xxxvil. 

Gravel, xxii, xxiv, lix. 6+8, 10, 13, 14, 
45, 64, 65, 66, 99, 107, 113, 175, 368, 
364. 

Gray, A. C., xlviii. 

Grayson county. 271, 276, 345. 

Gregg county. 50, 52, 65, 68. 

Green, Chas. B.. xix, 

Greensand, xxiv, 8, 28, 29, 52, 54, 92, 98, 

106, 107, 108, 112. 
beds, 112, 358. 
fossiliferous, 7, 29. 93. 
marl, xxii, xxiv, 8, 28, 32, 358. 

Grit, xxix, 1385, 140, 240. 309, 316, 336, 
385, 386. 

Gryphea. 149, 173 202. 204, 275, 276, 
, 806, 315. 320, 344, 345, 357. 

G. lancella: 352. 

G. dilatata, 202. 204, 206, 207, 208, 209. 

G. forniculata. 275. 344, 345. 

G. pitcheri 136, 137, 139, 146, 149. 152, 
167, 168, 173, 176, 202, 204, 206-209, 
214, .274, 281, 297, 298, 299, 303, 305, 
306, 315. 321, 322, 339. 

. thyrsze, 55, 56. 


80, 124. 


399 


G. tucumcari, 152, 153, 208, 345. 
G. washitaensis, 276, 345, 346, 
Gulf, xxii, xxviii,.lviii, 43, 69. 
Gulf coast, xxii, xxiii, 67, 68, 69, 119. 
Gum, 39. 
Gypseous clays, 113, 114. 
Gypsum, xxviii, 8, 11. LZy ea UITy 112) 
114, 146, 147, 148, 158, 161- 165, 
212, 213, 241,.347. 
crystals, 305. 
water, 213. 


H, 


| Hackberry, 375, 376, 378. 


Hagerman canal, 217. 

Hale county, 186. 

Hale’s quarry, 36, 37. 

Hall county, lvi: 

Halle a. S., xxxii, xxxiii, xxxiv. 

See county, lix, 290, 294, 330, 331, 
369. 


_ Hardin county, 66. 
| Harmon’s mill 19. 20, 28, 29. 


Harrison county, 50, 52, 65, 68. 
Hawes, J. W., 1380. 
Hawkins, George T., xxiii. 
Hayrick, xxi, 286. 
Hazel mine, xxi, xxx, liii, 386, 387-389. 
Headright, Albert. W. P., 30. 
Ablen jeN 38: 42, 
Applegate, John, 34. 
Barton, J. A., 80. 
Beaty, John, 31. 
Beckham, A. W., 30, 38. 
Bell, Samuel, 80. 
Benton, Peter, 79. 
Bethed, J., 18, 35 
Bodan, J. B., 31. 
Borazo, Antonio, 15. 
Box, J. M., 30, 31. 
Box, John, 17. 
Campbell, Charles, 37. 
Clapp, E., 16. 
Cummins, J. H., 11. 
De la Garza, Ramon, 14, 30. 
English, J. D., 15. 
Fenton, M., 89. 
Gossett, A. H.30,-31. 
(ATESOry, |en ois 
Henley, J., 30 
Hillebrand, C., 69. 
Hodges, N..C., 20, 29, 32, 39. 
Hughes, J. W., 30. 
Jones. J. D., 105. 
Langham, S. B., 30. 
Lewis, se 
Long, W., E., 
McLean, sea ‘14, 29, 31. 
Malon, J., 14. 
Manes, J. M.. 14, 
Martinez, Bi or 
Millen, W. Z., 35. 
Miller, Lav Ae 36, 
Murchison, J. R., 30. 
Porter, J., 30 


400 


Headright—continued. 

Procella, J. M., 19, 21, 29. 

Pruitt, i 15, 32, 

Reed, W. D., 34. 

Rodgers, Stephen, 19.2). 

Russell, R. R., 30. 

Sheridan, Tix art 

Stow. S. W.. 14, 30, 38. 

Teague, J. C., 30. 

Thompson, de Gio. 

Townsend, I. R., 12, 

Trenery. J. B. , 35. 

Walker, J., 30. 

Wallace, Te 34, 

Walsh, J. L.. 30. 

Walters, T., 106. 

Waters, Tillman, 56. 

Welch. John, 10. 

West, Luke. 40, 

Williams, Leonard, 20, 29, 32. 
Heilprin. Professor Angelo, 56. 
Helioceras, 356. 

Helix, 163. 

Henderson county, 52, 68. 

Herndon. J. H., xiii. ‘Lxi. 

Herron, W. H.. xix. 

Hickory, 39, 375 377. 

High Islands, 68 69: 

Hilgard, Professor E. W., 58, 67, 171. 
Hil gard’ s Northern lig ‘nite, Aq, 

Hill county, 371. 
Hillister, 65, 122, 123. 195. 
Ba Re Eto eon) 207, 271, 272, 305 

307, 327, 343. 

Hills, 6. 12. 165, 173, 174, 214, 287, 289, 

333, 383, 386. 

Hiner, 283, 284, 313, 316, 
Hippidium spectans, 253. 
Hippurite. 275, 

H. flabellifera, 341, 342 363, 
Hitchcock’s quarry, 61. 

Hockley county, 186. 

Hogg, Governor J. S.. xxxi. 
Hog- -wallows, 078, 

Holectypus platanus, 297, 305, 306. 
Hollingsworth, J. E., XXXi, XXXil. 
Holomensicus hesternus, 251. 
Honey Grove, 371, 373. 


f| 


Hood county 285, 290, 293, 307, 317, 369. 


Hook’s mills, 125. 
Hopkins, 58. 
Horsehead crossing, lvii, 132, 
211. 
Houston county, xviii, xxiii, lviii, 5-40 
52, 56, 58, ‘60, 65, 66, 68, 70, 92. 
Analyses of clays, 39, 
greensands, 29. 
iron ores. 31-33. 
lignites, 34, 
soils, 22-24. 
area, 5. 
boundary, 5 5. 
building arenes 36-38. 
clays, 38. 
drainage, 5. 


‘167, 175, 


| 
| 
| 


| 


| 
| 


} 
| 


INDEX. \ 


| Houston county — continued. 


economiic geology. 22-40. 
elevations, 6, 7, 10, 11. 
Eocene formation, 18-21. 
geography, 5. . ; 
geology, 7-21. ' 
greensand, 7, 28. 
iron ores, 5, 30-33. 
lignites, 33-36. ; 
Miocene formation, 14-18. m 
mountains, 7, : 
prairies, 6, 7. 
Quaternary formation, 9-14, 18 
Recent formation, 8. 
sections, 8, 11, 12. 15-20. 
soils, 5, 10, 11; 12, 22-28, 
streams, Oras 
surface, 5, “6: 
timber. 39, 
topography. 5, 6. 
water supply, 39. 
Houston mound, 7. 


| Howard county 132, 139, 173, 180, 185, 


229, 231, 283, 235, 236. 
Hubbard, J. C., liv. 
Hveco ranch, 386. 
Hudson P. On bet ej 


| Hughes Springs, 50, 52. 

. Humphreys, Captain, 223. 
| Hunt. W. S., xlviii. 

| Hutto. 326, 352, 395. 


Hyalina minusculus, 263, 264, 
Hyatt, 65, 122. 123, 125. 


| Hyatt, Professor Alpheus, xlii. 


Hydrographic basin, 327, 331, 338, 342, : 
364, 
Hydrography, 330. | 
th 
Iatan, 138, 139, 227, 231, 233, 235, 236, 
237. . 


Independence, 124. 
Indian figures. 151. 


| Indian Territory, 169, 281, 282. 


Inoceramii, 352, 354, 355, 356, | | 
Inoceramus, 350. tf | 
Instructions XX1, XXV. / 
International Congress, XXXii. 

Introduction. xvii, 5. | 

Investigation of utilization of lignite, 

XXA1; / 
Iredell, 290, 303, 307, 315, 370. 
Irion county, lvii. 

Iron—see Ores. . | 

magnetic, xxx. 

pyrites, 347. 

sandstones, 302. 

Isbel branch, 318. j} 
J. : } 
Jack county. 283. f 
Jackson, xxiii, 18, 112. ! 
Jacksonville. KVill, x xid, OF 124 


Jacobs, Joseph, xix, xx. 
Jasper, 365. 


Jefferson, 50. 
Jefferson county. 69, Lo. 
Jet, xxxiii. xxxiv, xxxviii. 


Johns-Hopkins University. xlii, xliii. 


Johnson.county, 289, 294, 370. 


Johnson grass, 160, 164. 
Johnston’s Peak, 303, 305. 
Jonah, 353, 355, 357. 
Jones, K., 28. 29. 
Jonesboro, 293. 

Julian, 194. 


Jurassic, Ivi, 134, 174, 202, 204, 205, 206, 


207, 208, 209, 210. 


K 


Kain, Prot tC. 26d. 
Kaolin, xxviii. 


Kaufman county, xxii, lviii, 44, 47, 364. 


Kendall, Mr., 129. 


Kennedy, William. xxii Xxili, 269. 


Reports of, lviii, 5, 41. 
Kent, 174. 214, 215. 


Kentucky Cattle Raising Company, 142 


Wage oe 

Kelrcouuueyys oS. @. Gi 

Kiamitia clay, 4, 
Kickapoo Springs, 136. 
Kinney county. xix, XXV. 
Knobs, 292, 339. 
Koenigsberg XxXXviil. 
Kountze, 123 125. 
Kueper, 203. 204. 


L. 


Lacustrine formations, 67, 70. 
Lafayette formation, X¥iv, 55. 
Lakes 1338, 156, 175, 176, 181, 184- 
196 
Blanco, 187. 
Caronado, 186. 
Casa Amarillo, 187. 
Cedar, 155. 
Cora. 186. 
Cuates, 185, 186. 
Cunningham’s, 188. 
Double, 186. 
Hunvs., 182. 
Lebos, 187. 
Negra, 182. 
Omboga, 188. 
Quemada. 183. 
Quemas, 183. 
Ranger, 181. 
Rich, 188. 
Sabinas. 184. 
Salt. 163, 181, 182, 185. 
Shafter. 181. 
Soda, 189. 
Tahoka, 185, 186. 
Tarr, 160. 
Vietas. 182. 
Wet Weather, 184. 
White, 187. 
Lama, 251. 
Lamar county, 971, 279, 371. 
amb county, 187. 


390, 388, 344, 345. 


189, 


INDEX. 


LL. wacoenye 
Lime, xxviil,° 


Limestone, xxiil, xxvi, 46, 47, 49, 51, BY 


AOI] 


Lambert, 284: 
Lamellibranch, 358, 
Laminated clay, Va 
: iron oS aa 8. 
ampasas, aay 
; ie 326, 329, 330, 331, 335, 
ampasas county, xxix, 1x, 274, 283. 285 
390, 326, 327,'328, 330, 331, 332, 387, 
367, 368. 369, 375. Ba E can Rots 
Na hae er section, xxix, 326- 
Lands, public. xxx, e.0.4h 
Langham, J. M., 29. 
J,aredo, xxii. lix. 364. 
coal, xxXviii. 
Las Vegas, 216. 
ioe 386. 
awrence crossing, 399. 
Lead—See Ores. aa 
Leon county, lviii, 58. 
Leverett, Sirona oad. 
Liberty, 155, 227, 231, 232 
Du hiere xlvi. 
ignite, xxii, XXX1i, XxXXV 8, 11, 33- 
45, 47, 50, 79, 112, 113 a ig 
973. 278, 813, 318, 358. 
beds, xxiv, 50, 66. 
European, XRKIe KALIL KS SL 
investigation, xxxii. 
: Texas, XXxiii, xxxv. xxxix, x1 
Hied wood: 203; BUR a rane. 


315. 


353, 359, % 


342, 348, 347, 349, 351 
chalky, 274. | | 


’ ; 


tufaceous, 11x, 334. 


80, 115, 139, 136, 147, 148, 149, 150, <3 
154, 156, 158, 160-169, 176, 211, 212, 
272, 277, 287, 291, 302, 320, 323, 325, 
328, 341, 342, 365. 

Alternating, 290, 291, 292, 338, 375. 

Arietina, 276, 277. 

arenaceous, 33/, 338, 350. 

Austin, xxvil, 971, 278, 279, 344, 350- 
354, 373, 378. 

barren, 342. 

‘pored, 340. 

Caprina, xxvi, 136, 188, 141, 168, 174, 
182, 272, 287, 303, 311, 338, 339, 340, 
341, 343, 376, Bits 

Caprotina, 287, 343. 

Carboniferous, 160, 328, 329, 339, 385, 
386. 

chalky, 188, 151, 158, 159, 215, 273, 
974, 276, 281, 305, 320, 338, 339, 
340, 341. 

therty, ¥XxX- 

Comanche Peak, 272, 274, 284, 287, 
305, 311, 320, 394, 338, 339, 340, 
376, 377. 

Cretaceous, 136, 168, 189, 334, 372. 


402 


Limestone—continued. 
crystalline, 341, 343. 
Dallas, 271. 
encrinital, 309, 329. 
flag, 272, 274, 275, 278, 320, 338, 342, 
348. 
flinty, 341. 
foraminiferal, 278. 


Fort Worth, 275, 276, 344, 345, 347, 


377. 
fossiliferous, 48, 339, 341. . 
Fredericksburg, 285, 293, 338. 
glauconitic, 99. 


Glen Rose, 284, 285, 309, 310, 324, 


325, 335, 370. 
Goodland, 371. 
Kiamitia, 344. 
magnesian, 166, 212, 298, 337. 
marly, 345, 346. 
oolitic, 273, 348. 
Paleozoic, 321. 
Permian, 166. 
Pinto, xxvii, 271. 
Pre-Carboniferous, 
shaly, 329. 
shell, 274 275, 276, 278, 293, 316, 324, 
325, 339, 345. 
Shoal creek, 207. 
siliceous, 148, 202, 324, 341. 
Silurian, 295, 335. 
Texana, 272, 287, 319, 320, 25), 376: 
olf, 
Che evel 12. 
Vola, 272, 977, ate , B45; 347, 348, 350, 
377, 
Limy concretions, 8, 
Lindale, 51, 86,.194, 
Linnea desit iosa, 263, 265. 
L,, hupifis, 263. 
Limgvood, 105, 124. 
ipan Spring, 136. 
Lithographic stone, 328. 
Liveoak, 376. 
Llano county. 383. 
Llano Estacado—see Staked Plains. 
Loam, 64, 66, 99. 
Localities for flowi ing wells, 368. 
Locust, 192. 
Lombardy poplar, 192. 
Lone Star Salt Works, 51. 
Lone Star well, 51, 76. 
Lony, 122, 123, 125. 
Long, E. McL.., Sas, XX2 
Long, W. E., 31, 
Longview, 50. 
Lookout. 162, 163: 164, 231, 233, 246. 
Loughridge, Dr. R. H., 5-1, Oa", 
Louisiana, 18, 58, 108. 
Loup Fork, 253. 
Lovelady, 6, 16, 38. 
Lower Cross Timbers division, 349. 
Lower Tertiary, XXxi. 
Lubbock, 140. 
Lubbock county, 187. 
Lucas, F. A., 254. 


282, 283. 


INDEX. . | 


yr Marienfeld, lvi, 


Lufkin, lviii, 112, 113, 124. ray 

Lufkin’ or Angelina ‘county depeaeh : 
8-60. ‘ 

Lynch, R. M., lvi. 

Lynn county, 186. 


M. 


yeehee School House, 56, 59, 106, 107, 
McConn, John, xix. 
McCulloch, C. C., lix. 
McKenzie, General, 144. 
Macks, 125, 
McLean’s wells, 185. 
McLennan county, 277. 
Macoma, xXiii. 
Madison county, 58. 
Magnenat, L. E., xliii; 219. 
Report of, xi. 
Magnesia, 297, 298, 367, 369. 
Mahomet, 339. 
Mahoney, Mr., 
Mammoth, 177. 
Maps, geological, 327. 
topograpic, xxii, 43. 
Marble, xxx, 328, 299. 
Marcou, Professor Jules, lvi, 134, 150, 
154, 4173;°201-209. 
Marcy, Captain R. B., 129, 
139, 140, 189, 196, 199; 


103. 


236. 

Marienfeld Fruit Growing Co., 195. 

Marine beds, 47, 51, 52, 54, 57. 
Cretaceous, xxvii. 
deposits, 45. 

Marine-Tertiary, 171. 

Marion county, 50, 65, 89. 

Marl, 277, 323, 325, 335, 337, 349. 
Blue, XXVIl, 271, 279, 3538, 354, 378. 
chalk, 354, 
chalky, 274. 
greensand, xxii, xxiv, 8, 28, 32. 
lime, 276, 292, 305, 312, 336, 339, 

301, 353, 375. 
Ponderosa, xxvi, xxvii, 47, 72, 354, 
355. 

sandy, 325. 

Marly clays, 164, 168, 212. 
flags, 358. 
lime zone, 353. 

Marshall, lviii, 52. 

Martin county, 188. 

Mary Allen Seminary, 32, 38.. 

Mastodon, 177, 251, 252. 

M. angustidens, 252, 253. 

Matador, 132. 

Matador Cattle Co., 144. 

Maverick county, xxv. 

Meek’s translation, 202. 

Menardville, lvi, 135, 136. 

Mesozoic, 209. 

Mesozoic pycnodont, 256. 

Mesquite, 160, 162. 181, 185, 194, 199. 
grass, 147, 151, 181, 194, 
roots, 160, 184, 199. 


” Serer + 


INDEX. . 408 


Messalia venusta, 57. 

Mexico, 383. 

Mica, 235. 

Microdus dumbleii. 256. 

Midland, 132, 188, 196. 

Midland county, 188 

Milam county, 326, 332, 333. 

Millet, 195. 

Mills county, 283, 285, 290. 

Millsap, 283, 315. 

Mineola, xxii, lviii, 45, 53, 68, 80, 84, 124. 

Mineola well, 51. 

Mineral resources, xxv, xxviii. 

Minerals, xxviii, xxx. 

Miocene, xxiii, xxiv, 8, 10, 14, 18, 36, 
37, 45, 57-63. 

Miocene-Tertiary, 365. 


Mississippi, 18, 58, 112. 


Mitchell county, 227, 231, 233, 235. 
Mobile, 125. 
Monahan’s, 132. 
Monopleura, 297, 298, 299, 361. 
Montague, 283. 
Montague county, 270, 283, 284, 287, 
294, 319. 
Montell, lix. 
Montvale, 138, 330, 335. 
Moody, J. M., 196, 
Morgan’s Mill, 285, 309, 310. 
Morgantown, xlii. 
Morris county, 50. . 
Motley county, lvi, 147, 231, 232, 240. 
Mountains, Apache, 386. 
Bald Eagle, 286. 
Baker, 320, 321. 
Big Tucumeari, 152, 154, 155, 201, 
210, 283, 244, 245. 
brecciatic, 386. 
Carrizo, xxi, xxx, liii, 383, 384, 385, 
386, 387, 389. 
Castle, 168, 174, 227, 232, 233, 247, 
286, 320, 322. 
Chinatti, 386, 389 
Church, 286, 287, 320, 323. 
Cook’s, 5, 6, 7, 15, 17, 20, 36, 56. 
Davis, 174, 214, 215. 


Diabolo, xxi, xxx, liii, 383, 385, 387. 


Double, 141, 233, 286. 

Hagle, 386. 

East, 286, 322. 

Franklin, 386. 

Guadalupe, xxviii, liii. lvii, 131, 
160, 164, 174, 211, 218, 214, 215, 
383, 385, 386. 

Hayrick, 286. 

Horse, 286, 287, 320, 328. 

Hueco, 383, 384. 

Little Tucumeari, 154, 156, 201. 

Long, 286. 

metamorphic limestone, 386. 

Mora, 286. 

Organ, 386. 

Prieta, 285. 

Pyramid, 155, 201, 202, 203, 

Quitman, xxi, 389, 


Mountains—continued. 
Rattlesnake, 312. 
Rivuelto 154, 201. 
Santa Anna, 286. 
Signal, 233. 
Table, 286. 
Tucumcari, 132, 172, 173, 203, 204, 
211, 2290231, 282,233, 245. 
Twin, 283, 290, 307, 308, 312, 324. 
Van Horn, liii, 383, 385, 386. 
Viejo, 386. 
West,7. 
Wichita. 169. 
Wiley, liii, 384. 
Mount Airy, 290, 307, 324. 
Barker, 282, 292, 299. 
Blanco, 148, 171, 183, 195. 
Bonnell, 289, 290, 291, 300, 369. 
Selman, 52, 124. 
Mount Selman series, 45, 51, 52-54. 
Muchakooyo Peak, 140, 233, 237. 
Mulvey, 125. 
Murchison’s prairie, 6, 9, 12,.21, 23, 29, 
57. 


Museum, xlvii, 208. 
Mustang draw, 189, 196. 
prairie, 7, 9, 11, 12, 26. 
N. 
Nacogdoches county, xviii, 52, 56, 58, 
108 


Naruua, 324, 330. 


| Nash ranch, 246. 


Nass-press-stein, Xxxlii, XxXvi. 
Natica, 57, 305, 306, 318, 321. 
N. pedernales, 361, 362. 
Nautili, 276, 345, 346, 352. 
Nautiloid forms, xlii. 
Nautilus, 214. 

Navarro county, 279. 

Navicula elliptica var. minutissima, 251. 
N. major, 251. 

N. rastrata, 251. 

N. viridis, 251. 

Nectarines, 192. 

Neocene, 251. 

Neocomian, 205. 


| Nevinea, 303, 349. 


Nevill’s prairie, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 26. 

New Birmingham, 53, 60, 103, 124. 

New Mexico, xxv, lv, lvi, 130, 182, 133, 
151, 166, 171, 178, 179, 181, 182, 183, 
184, 186, 187, 188; 201, 210, 215, 216, 
217, 220, 227, 231, 244, 263, 383, 386. 

Nix, 283, 326, 327, 328, 330, 335, 336, 338, 
339, 340, 342. 

Noble’s Station, 123, 125. 

Nodules, 308, 305, 337, 341, 342, 343, 356, 
358, 361, 377. 

Nolan county, xix, 286, 287, 320, 322. 

Nonienclature, 270. 

Nona, 1285. 

North Texas, xlii. 

Nueces county, 251. 


ms tN es ——————— 


404. 

O. 
Oak, 39, 375, 376, 877, 378. 
Oats, 192. 


Ochres, xXXviii. 
Odessa, 132, 178, 179, 188, 
Office work, x1viii. 
Oils, xxxiii, xxxv. 
Oldham county, lvi, 132, 187, 227, 231, 
233. 234, 243. 
Old Moorfield, ol, 
Oligocene, XXili. 
Olive, 125. 
One hundredth meridian, xviii, xix, xxv. 
Opalized silica, 139, 140, 153. 
Wood, 59, 61. 
Orange sands, xXxili. 
Orbitolina texana, 299, 
Orchards, 196, 197. 
Ores, carbonate, 5. 
clay ironstone, 32. 
conglomerate, 5, 7,- 14,18, 30, 38; 
105, 1138. 
copper, Xxi, xxx, 387, 388. 
itOn, XXli, XXiv, Xxx, 5, 9, 30, 38, 66, 
92. 98, 153. 
laminated, 5, 8, 29, 31, 99. 
lead, xxx, 388. 
siliceous, 32, 64. 
silver, 387, 388. 
silver- bearing Sod ad liii, 388. 
Osborn, Prof. H. wR, 255 
OFS: ranch. 142. 
Ostraea, 47, 49, 71. ue Cee 276, 298, 345, 
348, 350, 354, 355, 3 
. alabamensis, 56. 
- camelinis, 302, 307, 312, 324. 
. Carinata, 276. 346. 
. crenulinaryo, 209. 
diluviana, 214. 
. divaricata, 56. 
. franklini 297. 300. 
. larva, 354, 355, 357. 
. marshii, 202, 204, 206. 207, 208. 
Ee laa 174, 208, 209, 214, 276; 
O. selzeformis, 20, 55, 56, 108. 
O. subovata, 202, 206, 207, 346, 353. 
, subquadrata, 299. 
Owen, J., xxvi, xxviii. 
Oyster, 202, 281, 302, 308, 35 


noe 


Packsand, 285 301, 306, 309, 317, 318, 
319, 336. 
Page. Senator W, B., Iviit. 
Paleontology, xlii. 
of the Vertebrata, report on, 257. 
Paleozoic, 307, 324, 328. 
basin, 329. 
floor, 273, 329. 
rocks, 65, 66, 282, 283, 289, 320, 331, 
335. 
Palm leaves, 61. 
Palo Pinto, xxi. 


194 198. 


OCODO9O00000 


3, 357. 


INDEX. 


Palo Pinto county, 283. 
Paluxy, 310. 


| Paraffine, xxxiii, xxxiv, XXXv. 


Paris; 3(1/372,. 3/9. 

Parker county, lix, 270, 274, 288, 284, 
290, 298, 294, 3138. 369, 371. - 

Parmer county, 187. 

Paso, 6. 

Pasture lands, 376. 

Peaches. 192, 197, 376. 

Peaks, 383. 

Pebbles. 8, 11, 18, 118, 147, 148, 150. 160, 
161, 301, 302, 309, 330. 335, 358, 365. 


| Pecan, xxvili. 375, 376, 378. 


Pecan branch, 337. 

Pechcoal, xxxiii. 

Pecos City, xxv, lvii, 165, 166, 180, 218, 

222, 232, 247. 

Pecos Irrigation Co., 159, 217. 

Pecos valley, 211, 223, 231. 

Pecten, 136, 168, 208, 276, 321, 345, 346 

352, 354. 

P. deshayesii, 56, 57. 

P. quadricostatus, 348. 

P. (vola) Roemeri, 277, 349. 

P, texanus, 136, 137, 167, 214, 346, 348. 

Pennington, 6, 37, 60. 

Penrose, Dr. R. A. F., Jr., xxii, xxiii, 5, 
14, 18, 30, 36, 43, 45, 47, 52, 61, 62, 
Lily 2ol: 

Permian, xxvi, xliii, 137, 188, 146, 161, 
162, 164. 166, 174, 178, 179, 180, 193, 
211, 212, 213, 214, 241, 248, 246, 287, 
Dal), Od wens 

Permio-Cretaceous contact, eat 

Peters, Dr., 24, 

Phelps, 60. 

Phinney’s ranch, liii. 

Pidcock ranch, 370. 

Pilot Knob, 326,-339, 340, 342. 

Pine, 39, 

Pinna, 57, 208. 

Pinto limestones, xxvii, 271. 

Pinyon pine, 154. 

Pioneer Canal Co., 218, 219. 

Pipkin, 125. 

Pisidium abitum, 263, 265. ‘ : 

Pittsburgh, Pa., 194. 

Plank, 123. 

Planorbis parvus, 263, 265. 

Plateau, 383. 

Plaza Larga, 155. 

Pleasant Point Church, 313. | 

Pleistocene, xxvi, 64-67, 251. ' 

Pleurocera, 316. 

Pleurotoma denticula, 57. 

Plicatula filamentosa, 56, 57. 

Pliocene, 170. 

Plums, 192, 197. 

Plutonic rocks, liii. 

Polk county, 60, 66, 116. 

Ponderosa marl, xxvi, xxvii, 47, 72, 354, 
355. 

Ponds, 151, 181, 184. 

Pools, 175, 176, 188. . . 


INDEX. 


Pope, Capt. John, 129, 134, 177, 223. 

Porphyritic rocks, 167. 

Port Hudson, 67. 

Porter Springs, 6, 16. 

Post-Cretaceous conglomerate, 323. 
deposits, 363. 
section, lviii. 

Post-Tertiary, lix, 45, 251. 

Pothales, 14, 64. 

Powell, Maj. J. W., xxxi. 

Prairie dogs, 130. 

Prairie Grove. 49. 

Prairies, 6, 7, 9-13, 68, 70, 73, 142. 

Pre-Cretaceous conglomerate, 319, 329. 
fold, xxvi. 

Presidio, xxi. 

Productus costatus, 135. 

P. punctatus, 135. 

Protozoa, 358. 

Prunes, 192, 199. 

Publications, xlix. 

Public High Schools, xlvii. 

Public lands, xxx, xxxi. 

Puerto de Luna, 131. 

Pupa, 163. 

P. (Angustula) milium, 263. 

P. (Bifidaria) pentodon, 263. 

P. (Bifidaria) procera, 263, 265. 

P. hordeacea, 265, . 

P. hordeacella, 265. 

P. (Pupilla) muscorum, 263, 264. 

Pupide, 263. 

Pycnodont, Mesozoic, 256. 


-Q. 


Quarries, 36, 37. 
Quartz, 135, 150, 335, 341, 365, 385. 
crystals, 341. 
pebbles, 123. 
Quartzite, 341. 
Quaternary, xxiii, xxiv, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 
14, 18, 36, 38, 45, 64, 66, 67, 76, 
144, 145, 169, 170, 193. 
conglomerate, 158, 161, 163, 164, 169, 
170, 240, 246, 323. 
drift, 160, 164, 165, 166, 170. 
Queen City, 50. 
Quitique ranch, 132. 
Quito, 166, 247. 


R. 


Radiolites austinensis, 352. 
Ragsdale, G. H., xviii. 
Rainfall, xxviii, xxx, 194. 
Railway tank, elevation of, 124. 
Randall county, 187, 242. 
Rangia, 57. 
Rawlings. A., 196. 
Reagan, Jeff D., xix, xx. 
Recent, xxiv, 8, 9, 18, 45, 68, 67-70, 161, 

163, 170. 

drift, 215. - 

Red grit, xxix. 
Red River county, 271. 


Red River division, 271, 278, 349. 


405 


Reeves county, Ivii, 172, 218. 

Renshaw, John R., xviii. 

Report of Chemist, 1x1. 

Comstock, T. B., liv. 
Cope, E. D., 251. 
on Cretaceous area, 269. 
of Cummins, W. F., lv, 129. 
Drake, N. F., 225. 
Dumble, E. T., xvii. 
geologists, li—-lx. 
on Houston county, 5. 
of Kennedy, W., lviii, 5, 41. 
on Paleontology of the Vertebrata, 
251. 
shells, 263. 
Staked Plains, 129. 
of Sterki, Dr. V. 263. 
Streeruwitz, W. H. v., liii, 383. 
on Trans-Pecos Texas, 383. 
Triassic, 225. 

Requienia, 311. 

Reptilian bones, 242, 244. 
scapula, 152. 
teeth, 242. 

Reynosa beds, xxiii, 365. 

Rhine provinces, xxxii, xxXxiii, xxxv. 

Rice, 195. 

Rice, A., 35. 

Rice’s crossing, 326, 356, 357. 

Richardson Salt Works, 51. 

Richardson well, 51, 77. 

Ricker, 2838. 

Rio Grande, Xvili, xix. xxi, xXv, xxvi, 
XXvii, liv, 43, 221, 277, 278, 279, 347, 
304, 364, 383, 386. 

River, Angelina, 58, 68, 113. 

Big Wichita, 170. 

Black, lvii, 162, 168, 164, 217, 246, 
247. 

Bosque, lix. 278, 278, 285, 289, 293, 
294, 301, 315, 348, 350, 370. y 

Brazos, xxxi, lix, 47, 131, 133, 170, / 
193, 274, 275, 277, 278, 281, 283/ 
286, 288, 289, 294, 307, 3138, 319, 
321, 330,. 331, 332, 344, 347, 349, 
364, 367, 370. 

Canadian, xxv, lvi, 181, 182, 
154, 1738, 201. 

Clear Fork of Trinity. 371. 

Colorado, xxi. lx, 131, 183, 134, 136, 
138, 140, 173, 185, 193, 269, 272, 
273, .274, 276, 277, 278, 279, 281, 
282, 286, 288, 289, 290, 291, 293, 
295, 307, 321, 324, 327, 328, 330, 
331. 332, 337, 342, 344, 367, 369. 

Concho, 136, 187, 138, 168, 176, 179. 

Double Mountain Fork, 132, 141, 
148, 172 173, 185, 233, 238, 239. 

Elm Fork of Brazos, 286, 287, 289, 
320, 321. 

Felix, 2175-2 

Frio, lx. 365. 

Hondo, 1x, 217. 

Lampasas, 282, 285, 289, 291, 292, 
331, 332, 337, 338, 368. 


151, 


406 , INDEX. 


River—continued. 

Leon, 273, 274, 281, 284, 288, 289, 
291, 292, 293, 294, 301, 331, 332, 
337, 367, "369, 370. 

Leona, Xxii, lix, lx, 365. 

Little, 331, 332. 

Medina, 1x, 365. 

Neches, 5, 7, 8, 14, 18, 29, 30, 31, 39, 
40, 58, 59, 60, 61, 68, 70, 114, 116, 
119, 124. 

Noland, 275. 

North Fork San Gabriel, 332, 333, 
334, 338, 342, 376. 

Nueces, Xxii, ‘ix, lx, 274, O77, 364, 
365. 

Paluxy, 285. 

Pease, 182, 240. 


Pecos, xXv, XXvi, XXviii, lv, lvii, 130, 
131, 182, 1384, 157, 158, 160, 161, 
163, 164, 166, 172, 174, 175, 179, 
180, 190, 211-220, 222, 223, 227, 


232, 245, 247, 383. 

Penasco, 160. 

Prairie Dog Town Fork, 241. 

Red, xxix, 131, 133, 145, 146, 212, 
269, 274, 275-279, 283, 284, 286, 288, 
289, 292, 294, 313, 348, 


Russell Fork San Gabriel 332, 338, 


339, 376. 


‘Sabine, 50, 51, 52, 68, 69, 76, 84, 124. 
Salt Fork of Brazos, 182, 142, 148, 


183, 239. 
Salt Fork of Red, 146, 147. 


San Gabriel, 276, 282, 289, 291, 292, 
326, 331-334, 338, 339, 346, 348, 349, 


350, 354, 357, 364, 376, 378. 
San Saba, lvi, 135, 136. 
Seven, 160, 179, 215, 217. 
Snow, 69. 


South Fork San Gabriel, 332, 333, 


334, 342. 
South Fork Trinity, lix, 371. 
Sulphur Fork Lampasas, 285. 
Sulphur Fork Sabine, 68. 


Trinity, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 18, 14, 15, 
18, 29, 33, 35, 37, 39, 40, 52, 56, 58, 
59, 61, 64, 65, 68, 108, 272, 273, 274, 
275, 277, 278, 288, 288, 294, 313, 


364. 
West Fork of Trinity, lix. 
White, 143, 183, 195, 239. 
Wichita, 240, 
Riverside, 59, 61. 
Robbin’s ferry, 29, 32, 59. 
Robertson county, lviii. 
Robertson Peak, 286. 
Robertson, R. B., xix. 
Roby, xix. 
Rock House, 144, 145, 171. 
Rockland, 59,60, 61, 119, 120, 125. 
Rock Springs, xix. 
Rocky Comfort chalk, 46, 271. 
Roemer, Dr. F., xliii, 269, 271, 272. 
Rostellaria lamarckii, 56. 


Roswell, lvii, 157, 159, 160, 179, 213, 215, 


216, 221, 


Rotularia, 358. 

Round Rock, 275, 333, 334, 341-344, 
347-351, 368, 369, 377. | 

Rudistes, 274, 275, 298, 341, 344. 

Runnels county, 286, 287, 288. 

Rusk, lviii, 33, 60, 99, 101, 105, 112, 124. 

Rusk county, 52, 

Rusk penitentiary, 101. 

Rye, 192. 


S. 


Sabal, 117. 
Sabine county, 52, 56, 108. 
Sabine Pass, xxii, viii, 69, 70, 119, 125, 
Sabine lake, 66, 67, 69, 70. 
Saint Joe, 294, 313, 319. 
Salado, 368, 369. 
Salines, 46. 
Salt, xxviii, 46, 59, 76, 77, 157, 159, 160, 
162, 185, 189, 216, 221, 238, 318, 
deposits, xxiv, 77, 80, 
flat, 213. 
lake, 163. 
basin, 346. 
valley, 384. 
marshes, 213. 
Salts, 157, 158, 160, 180, 213, 367. 
San Angelo, xxi, xxv, liv, lvi, lvii, 136, 
137, 138, 169, 
San Antonio, 129, 275, 387. 
San Augustine county, 52, 56, 108. 
Sand, xxiii, xxiv, 6,°7,.9, 12, ae) 14, 30, 
: 45, 50, 52, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 89, 
90, 91, 92, 99, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113) 
114, 116, 117, 120, 121, 122, 123, 138, 
135, 161, 162, 163, 168, 169, 175, 190, 
278, 309, 349, 363. 
Sand dunes, 157, 170. 
Sanderson, 388. 
Sand hills, 7, 12, 183, 184, 146, 151, 156. 


| Sand roughs, 283, 287, 289, 321. 


Sands, Basal, 272. 

Dinosaur, 272, 

Fayette, xxiv, 45, 58, 60-62. 

Lower Cross Timbers, 271. 

Orange, xxiii. 

Paluxy, xxix, 273, 274, 281, 282, 284, 
288, 289, 291, 292, 308, 304, 306, 
307, 309, 312, 318, 324, 325, 335, 
338, 367, 370, 371. 

Red River, 277, 278, 367. 

San Miguel, xxvii, 271, 

Trinity, xxix, 189, 141, 173, 175, 176, 
178, 182, 269, 272, 273. 281, 282— 
289, 291, 292, 301, 302, 307, 309, 310, 
318, 315, 317, 319, 321, 324. 325, 329, 
330, 335, 367, 370, 371, 375. 

Upper Cross Timbers, 272. 


Sandstones, xxiii, 6,7, 8, 14, 30, 31.36, 37, 


38, 45, 51, 59, 60. 61, 64, 66, 106, 109, 
113, 114, 116, 117, 120, 121, 133, 136, 
138, 139, 140,142, 147-156, 158, 160. 
161, 163, 165, 166, 168, 169, 182, 202, 
211, 212, 213, 228 232,235, 239, 240, 
242, 244, 245, 246, 282, 288, 295, $28, 
358, 385. 


F 
F 
; 


INDEX. 


San Miguel, 271. 
San Saba, lvi, 129, 130. 
San Saba series, 328. 
Santa Fe, 129, 130. 
Santa Fe Expedition, 129. 
Savannah bills, 320. 
Saxony, XXXii, Xxxv. 
Scaphites, 356. 
Schists, xxix, xxx, liii, 383, 385, 386. 
Schleicher county, xix, xxv. 
Schweelcoal. xxxiii, xxxv. 
Scrub-oak, 157. 
Scutella caput-linensis, 55, 56, 108. 
Scutellee, 107, 108. 
Second bottoms, 365. 
Second Report of Progress, 61. 
Sections, xxii, xxiii, xxv. xxvi, xxix, 137. 
Alternating series, 317. 
Alto, 105-108. 
Alto to Lufkin, 108-113. 
Angelina river to Corrigan, 44, 61, 
113-115. 
Austin limestone, 353. 
Bachelor’s Peak, 337, 360. 
Baker mountain, 321. 
Baker’s School House, 362. 
Big Tucumcari, 155. 
Bitter creek, 322. 
Blanco beds, 170, 171. 
Blue marl and bottom lands, 366. 
Bosque, 301, 306, 307, 337, 370. 
Bosque division, lix, 294. 
Brazos, 43, 62. 
Buffalo Gap, 321. 
Caprina bed, 363. 
Castle mountain 167, 322. 
Central Texas, xxvii. 
Charlotte P. O., 169. 
Church mountain, 323. 
Colorado, xxvii, xxix, 18, 43, 62, 
282, 290, 295, 296 306, 307, 337. 
Columnar, 313, 359. 
Comanche Peak, 310. 
eae to Colmesneil, 44, 63, 116- 
119. 
Cox well at Pecos City, 222. 
Coyote creek, 157. 
Decatur, 317. 
Dublin, 301, 313, 316. 
East of Pyramid mountain, 155. 
Escarpment near Iatan, 235. 
Escarpment near Double Mountain 
Fork, 238. 
Gail, 140. 
Grand Saline region, 76-80. 
Grand Saline to Mineola, 81-84. 
Head of Delaware creek, 165. - 
Hickory creek, 293, 295, 296, 306. 
Hiner, 313, 315. 
Hood county, 307. 
Horse mountain, 323. 
Houston county, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15-20, 
32, 34, 35. 
Independence to Alto, 55. 
Iredell, 303. 
Jacksonville to Bullard, 53. 
' Kent, 214. 


407 


Sections—continued. 
Lampasas-Williamson, xxix, 326- 
336. 
McDonald’s creek, 239. 
Mesa in Borden county, 238. 
Mesquite creek, 360. 
Midway or Pine Barren, 47. 
Mineola to Tyler, 44, 84-90. 
Mount Barker, 296, 299, 
Mount Blanco, 1438. 
Muchakooyo Peak, 140, 237. 
North Rocky creek, 361. 
Palo Duro canyon, 147, 242. 
Pilot Knob, 362. 
Pleistocene, 64-67. 
Post-Cretaceous, lviii. 
Pyramid Mountain, 203: 
Quaternary, 9. 
Recent, 9. 
Rio Grande, 43, 62. 
Rockland to Sabine Pass, 44, 63, 
119-128. 
Sandy creek, 296, 298. 
San Gabriel river, 363. 
San Saba river valley, 135. 
Signal Peak, 138. 
South Rocky creek, 361. 
Staked Plains, 141, 143, 144, 145, 
150, 152, 154, 181, 182. 
Terrell to Mineola, 44, 71-84. 
Terrell to Sabine Pass, 43-123. 
Travis Peak, 296, 297, 307. 
Triassic, 237. 
Tucumcari beds, 152. 
Tucumcari mountain, 201. 
Twin mountains, 309, 313, 316. 
Twin Peaks, 136. 
Twin Sisters Peak, 359. 
Tyler to Lufkin, 44, 90-113. 
Walnut, 305, 306. 
Water Valley, 138. 
Weatherford, 315, 337. 
Well at Mineola, 82-84. 
Westbrook, 1388. 
Sedge grass, 146. 
Selenite, 8, 14, 166, 218, 347, 355. 
Seminole Wells, 185. 
Seneca, 122, 125. 
Seunterfit, 328. 
Septaria, 316, 358. 
Serpula, 316, 361, 362. 
Seven Rivers, 160, 162. 
Shale, 153, 211, 278, 282, 295, 317, 350. 
Shaly clay, 8. 
Shark teeth, 57. 
Sheep raising, xxviii. 
Shell flagstones, 325. 
Shells, xlvii, 163, 345. 
report on, 263. 
Sherman, 367. 
Shiloh School House, 352, 353, 355, 357. 
Shinoak, 133, 186, 156, 168, 181, 321. 
Shore-line, 172, 178. 
Shufeldt, R. W., 255. 
Shumard, Dr. B. F., 208, 211, 212, 214, 
269, 271, 272. 
Shumard, Prof. Geo. G., 134, 269. 


Sn a ne nie 2 a ae 


408 INDEX. 

Shriver & Andrews, 387. Springs— 

Sierra Blanca, xix. Big, lvi, 132, 184, 139, 176. 
Carrizo, 386. Blue, 164. 


Diablo, 383, 385, 386. 
Prieta, xix, 385. 
Signal Peak, 229, 233, 236. 3 
Siliceous gravel, 10, 14, 64, 66, 118, 114, 
123. 


pebbles, 8, 12. 13, 14, 59, 64, 65, 116, 
120, 139, 141, 148, 146, 147, 153, 
161, 168, 164, 168, 169, 229° 232, 
236, 239, 240. 

Silicfied wood, 59, 65, 66, 112, 229, 240, 
244, 273,293, 301, 302, 310, 317, 358, 
359. 

Silt, lix, 64, 118. 

Silurian, xxvi, 295, 328, 3 

Silurian geanticlinal, XXVI. 

Siluro-Carboniferous contact, 328. 

Silver, xxx, 387, 388, 389. 

Silver Lake, 68, 81, 124. 

Singley, J. A., xxxi, xlvi, 263. 

Skidway, 125. 

Smith county, xviii, 46, 50, 51, 52, 90. 

Smith, Prof. I,., 220. 

Smithville beds, 18. 

Smithwick Mills, 300. 

Smyrl, 124. 

Snyder, 142. 

Soda, 189 369. 

Soils, xxiv, 10, 49, 185, 146, 181, 366, 373- 

379. 


analyses of, 379. 

Andrews county. 181. 

arietina clay, 377. 

Armstrong county, 181. 

Austin limestone, 378. 

black, 118, 340, 355. 

blue marl 378. 

Caprina limestone, 377. 

Castro county, 184. 

chemical analysis of, 374. 
Comanche Peak limestone, 376. 
Cretaceous, 373. 

drift, 378. 

Eagle Ford shale, 378. 

Floyd county, 184. 

Fort Worth limestone, 377. 
(Slen Rose limestone, 375. 
Houston county, 5, 10, 12, 13, 22-28. 
Howard county, 186. 

Pecos valley, 218 221. 


Staked Plains, xxviii, 146, 190, 193, 


197. 
Texana limestone, 376. 
Trinity sands, 374. 
Upper Cretaceous, 378. 


Somervell county, 285, 290, 307, 369, 370. 


Sorghum, 192. 

Spheerium, 163. 

Spindle Top, 69. 

Springdale, 50. 

Springs, 8, 12. 40, 142, 144, 146, 148, 149, 
150, 156, 158, 160, 163, 165, 176, 
179, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188, 
195, 212, 213, 215, 234, 329, 331, 
333-335, 338. 


Castile, 165. 

Delaware, 164, 165. 

Grapevine, 164. 

Kickapoo, 136. 

Lipan, 136. 

La Laguna, 188. 

Moss, 177. 

Mustang, 188, 189. 

Rock, xix. 

Screw-bean, 166. 

Sulphur, lvi, 139, 189, 331. 

Wild Horse. 177. 
Springtown, 284, 316, 371. 
Staked Plains, xxi, xXv, xxvi, 

xliii, lv, 227, 294. 

agricultural possibilties of, 190-200. 

altitudes on, 182, 151, 156, 193. 

area of, 131, 132. 

artesian water on, xxvii, lv, 177-180. 

artesian well on, 187. 

boundary of, 132. 

climate of, 193. 

Cretaceous of; 172. 

description of counties on, 181-189. 
, economic geology of, 175-189. 

frosts on, 198. 

fruit growing on, 197, 199. 

fuel on, 199. 

geology of, 134 174. 

geology of country west of, 201. 

mean temperature of, 193. 

minerals of xXxvili. 

natural growth on, 191. 

orchards on, 197. 

origin of name of, 129. 

Quaternary of. 169. 

rainfall on, xxviii, 194. 

Report on, 129. 

sections of, 141, 148-145, 150, 152, 

154, 170, 171, 181, 182, 198. 

soils of, xxviii, 181, 190. 193, 197. 

Tertiary of. 161. 170, 269. 

timber on, 181, 194. 

topography of, 132, 181. 

Triassic of, 172, 174, 225-247. 

vineyards on, 197, 198. 

water supply of, xxvii, xviii, 175- 
Star and Crescent Furnace, 101. 
Stark, 6. 


XXViii, 


| State Survey, work of, xxi. 


Statistics of browncoal, xxxiv. 
Steen Saline, 46. 
Stegocephali, 257. 
Stephens, 124. 
Stephenville, 370. 
Steppes, 154. 
Sterculia drakei, 210. 
Sterki, Dr. V., xliii. 
Report of, 263. 
Stevenson switch, 73, 124. 
Stockraising, 181, 183, 185, 186, 187, 188, 
Stone, J. S., 307. 
Stonewall county, xix, 141, 286. 


Le f 
. > 


INDEX. 409 


Storage reservoirs, xxx, 143, 176, 195, 
196, 197, 217. 

Stoves, xxxvii. 

Stratigraphy, xxv, 327. 
of Triassic formation, 225, 229. 

Streams, 7, 12, 195, 216. 

Streeruwitz, W. H. v., xxi, xxix, xxx. 
Reports of, liii, 383. 


' Strickling, 338, 339. 


Strontia, 367, 369. 

Stryker, 60, 61, 66, 119, 125. 
Styria, xxxii, xxXiv, XXXV, XXXVIli, XXxix. 
Succinea, 163. 

S. avara, 263. 

S. ovalis, 263. 

Sulphate of lead, 387. 

Sulphur, 165, 189, 212, 221. 
Sulphuretted hydrogen, 212. 
Sulphur Springs, lvi, 139. 
Summit, 60, 62, 119, 120, 121, 125. 
Sunny Lane, 339. 

Sutton county, X1x, XXv. 

Swags, 162, 163. 

Swann, 124. 

Sweetwater, xix, 320. 

Swisher county, 188. 

Sycamore, 375, 378, 


Syndicate Cattle Co., 187. 


Ase 


Table land, 138, 283, 284, 286, 287, 289, 
376. 

aie. Ay, XXti- XXVi, XX1xX\°27 1, 272. 
Reports of, lix, 269. 

Tar, XXxiv, XXXxv. 

Batt Ro S111, 328. 

Tascosa, 150. 

Tasse Belle Furnace, 103. 

Taylor, 333, 355, 357, 364. 

mas county, 286, 287, 288, 289, 301, 

0, 


Teague, W. S., lviii. 

Tecumseh Peak, 286. 

Terebratula; 276, 345, 346. 

T. subtillita, 135. 

T. wacoensis, 214, 345, 346, 348. 

Terraces, 291, 292, 311, 317. 

Terrell, xxii, lviii, 44, 46, 71, 124, 364. 

Terry county, 188. 

Tertiary, XXli, XXili, xxiv, xxvi, xxix, 5, 
6, 7, 36, 43, 45, 46, 48, 72. 92, 138, 
134, 189, 140 141, 144. 146, 147, 
149-151, 156, 163, 170-178, 175-180, 
1838, 187, 190, 191, 201, 206, 211, 


213, 215, 232, 236, 237, 239, 243, | 


247, 251, 269, 279, 358, 364, 384, 
387. 
Lower, xxxi, 178. 
Testudo, 251. 
T. cultratus, 256. 
T. turgida, 255. 
Texas Land & Water Co., 218. 
Texas System, xxx. 
Thompson, Prof. A. H., xxiii. 
Thompson, R. A., liv. 


Thorndale, 326, 333, 358, 359. 

Thorp Springs, 309. 

Thrall’s History of Texas, 129. 

Timber, 10, 12, 39, 49, 70, 73, 135, 141, 
155, 181, 182, 184, 185, 294, 338, 375, 
377. 

Tom Green county, lvil. 

Topographic maps, xxii, 43. 
sheets, xx, 294, 326, 327. 

Topography, xvii, xvili, xxi, xxvi, xxx, 

288, 294, 333, 364. 

of Glen Rose beds, 291. 
Houston county, 5, 6. 
Paleozoic floor, 339. 
Staked Plains, 132, 176. 
Triassic formation, 227. 
Trinity sand, 288. 

Torbert, 384. 

Townsend prairie, 9, 12. 

Town’s Mill, 334, 348, 349, 350. 

Toxaster, 321. > 

Toxaster texanus, 136, 187, 167, 168, 214, 
297, 305, 306, 315, 340, 359, 360. 

Toyah, liii, 180, 212, 221, 222, 228. 

Trachitic rocks, 386. 

Trachytes, 386. 

Trans-Pecos Texas, xix, XXi, XXix, XXX, 

lili. 
Report on, 383. 

Travis county. 270, 283, 290, 291, 326, 
330, 333, 369. 

Travis Peak, 207, 297. 

Travis Peak P. O., 297, 300. 

Treppen rost, xxXvil. 

Triangulation, xix. 

Triassic, xxvi, 188-142, 144, 149-151, 153 
-158, 166, 169, 172-174, 176-180, 182, 
183, 187, 190, 191, 201, 206, 210, 211, 
213, 215, 225 247. 

Trigonia, 136, 296, 299, 305, 352, 362. 


’ 


| T. crenulata, 302, 303, 306, 316, 324, 339, 


362. 
T. emoryi, 208, 209. 
Trinity, xxii. 
conglomerate, 307, 322, 328; 329, 
330, 338. 
‘county, 5, 7, 10, 14, 34, 37, 60, 65. 
inliers, 284, 285. 
Trinity-Paleozoic contact, 284, 287. 
Troupe, 50, 90. 


| Tryon, 125. 


Tucumeari, lvi, lvii, 174, 175, 201, 205- 
208, 215. 
altitude of, 201. 
fossils of, 202, 204, 208, 210. 
sections of, 201, 203. 


| Turbinolia, 57. 


Turritella, 47, 49, 71, 72, 316. 
T. seriatim granulata, 208, 209, 340. 
Twin Peaks, 136. 


Twin Sisters Peaks, 335, 336, 337, 339, 


340. 


Tyler, xxi, lviii, 50, 53, 84, 89, 90, 91, 


112, 124. 
Tyler county, 45, 60, 62, 65, 116, 119. 
Tvler prairie, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 28, 26. 


« 


ee SY wn 


410 


Uz. 
Udstown, 14. 
Umbrella china, 192, 
Uncle Jake’s prospect, 387. 
Unios, 141, 149, 234, 239, 240. 


United States Coast and Geodetic Sur- 


vey, Xvii, xviii, xxi, xlix, 69. 

United, States Geological Survey, Xvil, 
XVilt; ¥A1,, XXX1,¢ X11 oxlix, dia liv, 
44, 293, 326, 385. 

Upper "Cenozoic, 251. 

Upshur county, 50, 51. 

Upson clays, xxvii, 271. 

Upton county, lvii. 

Urquhart, Chas. F., xix. 

U. S.-ranch, 164. 

Uvalde, XXii, <x 

Uvalde county, xxv, lix, 277. 


; V. 
Valera, 286. 
Valley of the Pecos, 211-223. 
Vallonia, 263, 264. 
V. costata, 2638, 264. 
Val Verde county, xxv. 
Val Verde flags, xxvii, 271, 278. 
Van Horn, xxxi, 387. 
Van Zandt county, 46, 51. 
Veal’s Station, 294. 
Venericardia planicosta, 61. 
Vermetus, 57. 
V. bognoriensis, 57. 
V. rotula, 57. 
Vertigo ovata, 263. 
Village Mills, 125. 
Vineyards. 196, 198. 
Vola limestone, 272, 277, 278, 345, 347, 
348, 350, 377. 
Volcanic ash, 348, 
cones, 386. 
rocks, liii. 
Volcanoes, 386. 
W. 
Waco, xxi, 367. 
Walker county, 5, 60. 
Walker, J. B., xxii, xxiii, lviii. 
Walker’s branch, 301. 
Wallace, H. S., xix. . 
Walnut, 39, 289, 293, 294, 301, 305, 307, 
319, 370, 375. 
Ward, Lester F., 209. 
Ward county, 132, 217. 
Ward’s Wells, 185. 
Warfield, 132. 
Warren, 122, 125. 
Warren, H. I,., liv. 
Washington county, XXiii. 
Washington, D. C., xx, xxxii. - 
Washita division, 174, 205, 208, 209, 214, 
272, 275, 276, 278, 327, 348, 345, 348. 
Water-shed, 330, 331, 332, 338, 339. 
Water supply, xxii, xxvii, xxviii, xxx, 
142, 143, 146, 181.. 
Water Valley, 138. 
Watson’s branch, 318. 
Pee, xxi, 293, 294, 315, 316, 319, 
ees 


Se Tht RON RE ean Pere, eRe 
sf > 3 - my 
; ’ 


INDEX. 


Ke Heer ® 


ne we . ; 
% , % a ~ + ws 
sie ay pes , 


! by 
a 
’ 


Webb Bluff, xxvii. 
Webb county, 364. 
Weches, 6. 
Weiss, 125. 
Weldon, 6, 10, 60. 
Wells, xxx, 124, 143, 151, 159, 166, 168, 
175, 181- 188, 195, 196, 198, 246, 247, 
334, 338, 365, 384, 
artesian, 177, 179, 187, 221, 285, 308, 
310, 397, 334, 368, 371, 
Capt. Pope’s, 223, 
Five, 181, 185. 

. Lone Star, 51, 76. 
McLean’s, 185. 
Mineola, 82. 

Odessa, 198. 
Richardson, 51, 77. 
Seminole, 185. 
Shallow, xxvii, xxviii, 175, 176, 178, 
' 184, 195, 196. 
Ward’s, 185. 
Westbrook, 1388. 
West Texas, xxv. 
Wharton county, 251. 
Wheat, 192. 
White, Dr. I. C., 
Whitehead, 108. 
White sand hills, 183, 193. 
Whitley, J. E., liv. 
Whitt, 283. 
Wilkin’s Mill, 50, 51. 
Williamson county, xxix, lx, 274, 278, 
282, 289, 290, 326, 831-333, 335, 338, 
345, 350, 351, 354, 368, 364, 365, 367, 
376 -378. 
William’s ranch, 
Willow, 375, 
Willow Point, 283. 
Wills Point, xxii, 48, 50. 72, 124. 
Windmills, 143. 151, 183, 184, 186, 188, 
195, 196, 197, .239. 
Wise county, Jix, 270, 282-284. 289-290, 
298, 294, 316, 317, 319, 324. 
Wood county, 36, 50, 51, 68. 
Wood, fossil, 8, 10,-11, 12, 45, 66, 111, 
112, 1138, 152, 324. 
Woodville, 62, 121, 122, 125. 
Woolman, Lewis, 251. 
Wooten, G. H., Ixiii, 1xi, 351, 352, 354 - 
357, 359. 
Work of State Survey, xxi. 
Work of third year, xvii. 
Worley, N. S., 196. 
Wyschetzki, R., liii. 


xlii. 


283. 


Xerobates agassizii, 255, 


Y. 

Yellow clay, 11. 
sand, 8, 18. 

Yoakum county, 188. 
Youngsport, 289. 
Yucca, 131. 

Z. 
Zatomus, 257. 
Zonites, 163. 
Zuni plateau, 386, 


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